Press
Release:
Public Statement by the UBUNTU Party.
7 September 2012
Should
SA ‘banksters’ be put in jail?
The leader of the Ubuntu
Political Party has openly called upon the South African public to come forward
with any information regarding possible fraud that their banks may have
committed. This is in view of possible criminal charges to be laid against the
South African banks, their directors and CEO’s. He is also preparing a charge
of civil fraud against Standard Bank, to be served within days.
Michael Tellinger states that
banks are engaging in a secret process called securitisation which, he
claims, has resulted in the unlawful stripping of thousands of homes and the
“stealing” of people’s belongings by lawyers and banks.
“Our banks have been
caught red handed in a fraud that amounts to billions. Who is going to stand up
to them?” fumes Tellinger, who
has been trying to get his case heard for almost two years.
“I personally delivered
two hours of solid evidence in a court room full of people. We watched in
horror as Judge Mabasela pulled out a judgment that he clearly prepared
earlier, and read it out. No deliberation, no reasoning clearly a pre-meditated
judgement.” Said Tellinger.
But
the lack of justice to the people does not stop there he added. “After
serving legal papers on the court for the Judge to produce written detailed
reasons for his judgement, our claim was simply ignored mainly because of the
interference from Norton Rose, the lawyers for Standard Bank, who contacted the
Judge and told him that he did not have to deliver any reasons!”
Tellinger is backing himself
thanks to a string of successful cases in the United States against securitisation.
The most recent case involved Citigroup, who was forced to settle for $590
million in damages. In the US, banks and brokerages have been under fire since
the 2008 crisis where ‘sub-prime’ securitisation was considered to be the cause
of the crash.
Securitisation occurs when
banks sell bundles of loans, credit cards and shop cards to third parties, who
in turn trade them on various bond and stock exchanges. The profit margins can
be enormous because those loans become “bets” called derivatives which can be
traded many times over.
The person repaying the loan
has no idea that he is responsible for his share of a global industry estimated
to be 20 times larger than the GDP of the entire planet, and this is why
Tellinger is resolute in getting the media to finally get behind the people and
start asking the hard questions of the “banksters”.
“Securitisation is
bringing down this country” he continues.
”It is a giant pyramid scheme that has to keep sucking more and more debt to
stop it from crashing. This debt comes from us – our homes, cars, credit cards,
businesses and assets. It must be exposed. It must be stopped or our children
will not survive the next few years. The banksters are stealing the country
from its people.”
CEO of Standard bank, Jaco Maree,
recently had this to say about South African banking: “…we have simpler
banks - not the type of 'casino banks' found in other developed financial
systems.” However, according to the Banking Association of South Africa’s
website, South African banks are securitising loans in the region of R30 billion
per month.
Advocate MS Blackbeard from the Registrar of Banks at
the South African Reserve Bank, states that when securitisation takes place, a
bank “has no legal standing in respect of the assets thereafter.” If
correct, Tellinger would have uncovered a monumental fraud in South African
banking.
“To all the people of South Africa, I beg you to please
understand something very clearly. When you took out a “loan” from a bank the
money was created out of thin air. There was no lawful loan! The banks have
been lying to you and it is time to stand up for your rights.”
“Then, to add insult to injury, they secretly sell all
these fake-loans to investors. The banks get their money up front and the
investors are insured if you can’t keep up with payments. They are protected
while you, the consumer, is left with nothing. They will take away everything we
have until we wake up to this fraud and do something about it.”
Tellinger’s gripe is that the
banks pretend to own the so-called loan, but because it has been sold and
re-sold, the bank should no longer retain a relationship with the customer in
this regard. However, a constant stream of bank statements, letters and phone
calls to the customer from the bank maintains the illusion that the bank still
owns the debt. This, he claims, is both illegal and immoral because it protects
a secret profiteering racket that could be worth trillions of Rands. This
deception is somehow protected by the courts and ignorant judges who refuse to
cross examine the bankers about any of their activities.
Even when the banks confess
to all these deceptive and unlawful activities to the judges, they are not
questioned in any way. This is a wake-up call for everyone that there really is
no justice for the common people.
The New Economic Rights
Alliance (NewERA), a non-profit organisation not aligned to any political
party, has supported Tellinger in previous cases. Scott Cundill, Chairman of
the NewERA made the following statement to the Ubuntu Party:
“Much as we sympathise
with Michael Tellinger, we simply do not have the resources to formally support
him in laying criminal charges. We must stay true to our civil case in the High
Court.”
The NewERA and their members
are taking legal action against the big four banks and the South African
Reserve Bank. The premise of the NewERA case in the High Court is that in order
to loan something to someone, one needs to first possess it. As strange
as it sounds, banks do not possess the money they claim to “lend” the customer,
and therefore the loan agreements should be declared invalid.
The UBUNTU Party calls on all
South Africans to join them in presenting their evidence in the process of laying
criminal charges against their banks. “If
you have any incriminating evidence against your bank, we want to add it to the
list.”
To join in the action please
email your details to criminalbanks@ubuntuparty.org.za
and we will provide you with a short affidavit draft to fill in regarding your allegations.
“This is the time to stand together and
united as a great nation of rainbow people, against a silent onslaught that
will consume us if we do not act now.”
End.
