Cape Times reports that the Gupta family are aggressively wooing the shareholders of mineworkers’ bank Ubank in a bid to buy the financial institution to ease their banking woes.  

This comes two years after the Guptas’ first attempt to buy Ubank failed.  Bosses of Gupta-controlled Oakbay Investments have been calling and meeting leaders of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) for weeks in a bid to convince the union to sell.  NUM controls a 50% stake in Ubank, with the rest held by the Chamber of Mines of SA.  The union’s leaders appeared to be at odds over the sale of the bank, which is under financial strain, despite a standing resolution by its central committee meeting this month to hold on to the bank.  Controversially, Oakbay made a R1 million “donation” to NUM to cover costs for its central committee meeting, raising suspicion that this was meant as a sweetener for the bank’s sale.

• Read this report by Theto Mahlakoana and Mogomotsi Magome in full at Cape Times

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