Staff Writer 
Nedbank Group has agreed to pay Transnet R600 million ($34.8 million) in a confidential commercial settlement, ending a year-long legal dispute over interest-rate swaps.
The settlement, made without any admission of liability, follows efforts by both parties to avoid prolonged litigation and preserve their business relationship, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
The agreement brings to a close a case launched by Transnet and South Africa’s Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which had sought to recover money the logistics firm “unduly paid” to Nedbank in 2015 and 2016 swap transactions.
The SIU and Transnet alleged the bank made more than R2.7 billion in profit from the deals.
Nedbank denied wrongdoing, saying its sales margin was market-related and that its actual gain amounted to less than R43 million.
The swaps were concluded under the advice of Regiments Capital, a firm linked to the Gupta family, who are alleged to have leveraged their relationship with former president Jacob Zuma to flout procurement processes and secure state contracts.
A judicial inquiry into so-called state capture found the transactions potentially corrupt, though Nedbank said it was unaware of Regiments’ alleged collusion with Transnet officials or the Guptas.
Transnet and Nedbank described the resolution as being in the national interest, allowing the two long-time partners to continue working together to support infrastructure investment and economic growth.
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