Zuma’s nephew denies Panama links
Khulubuse Zuma Khulubuse Zuma
Staff Writer and Reuters
President Jacob Zuma’s nephew, Khulubuse, has dismissed media reports implicating him – and some of the world’s rich and famous – in hiding their wealth offshore.
His was one of the names that emerged in the leaked Panama Papers, extracts of which were published worldwide on Sunday.
More than 11.5 million documents from the files of law firm Mossack Fonseca, based in the tax haven of Panama, reportedly reveal the details of hundreds of thousands of clients around the globe.
Khulubuse Zuma’s spokes- person, Vuyo Mkhize, said yesterday Zuma does not have an offshore banking account.
“He was associated with a company that was set up and registered offshore in British Islands. The extent of that association is that he was authorised to sign on behalf of the company doing business in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” Mkhize said.
He said Zuma had no additional comment to make. “Regarding the involvement with the company, there is nothing new beyond what was reported previously,” Mkhize said.
He made the comments amid reports that tax authorities in Australia and New Zealand were probing clients of a Panama-based law firm at the centre of a massive data leak for possible tax evasion.