South Africa Inquiry Into PIC Impropriety Allegations Starts

(Bloomberg) -- An inquiry into allegations of impropriety at Africa’s biggest money manager started Monday.

Lex Mpati, the former president of South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal, opened the inquiry regarding the country’s Public Investment Corp. in Pretoria. Former central bank Governor Gill Marcus and Emmanuel Lediga, an investment banker, are the other members of the commission, while Phuti Setati is its secretary and Jannie Lubbe is the evidence leader.

President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed the commission in October to investigate the allegations at the PIC, which invests the bulk of the pensions of civil servants on behalf of the Government Employees Pension Fund.

The commission’s terms of reference will include a review of the PIC’s governance and operating model, possible changes to the money manager’s founding legislation and its memorandum of incorporation and investment decision-making framework, the Finance Ministry said last year.

A company linked to former Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene’s son sought funding from the state pension-fund management company when Nene was chairman of the organization, amaBhungane reported in October.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nkululeko Ncana in Johannesburg at nncana@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net, Ana Monteiro

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