A Durban businessman is suing Nedbank for almost R40bn for listing him as a suspected fraudster for eight years.
Shaun Naidu said he first became aware of the listing in 2015 when he tried to open a personal bank account and found he was listed on the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS), a nonprofit organisation focused on fraud prevention.
“I was told I was flagged by Nedbank on the Shamwari database which was created and is maintained by SAFPS. Due to this listing, I couldn’t open a bank account at any banking institution. I was very confused at this stage especially because I had tried to apply for credit with Nedbank two years before. I questioned why I was not informed about this listing by Nedbank.”
Naidu said he approached SAFPS and they confirmed Nedbank had listed him in 2013 and that this would remain for 10 years. According to e-mails seen by the Sunday Times, SAFPS advised Naidu to tell Nedbank to issue an instruction to SAFPS to remove the listing.
“I even applied for a police clearance certificate stating I have no criminal record or pending charges against me,” Naidu said.
However, the issue was not resolved and in July 2015 Naidu filed a complaint with the National Credit Regulator (NCR) and asked for their assistance in getting his name cleared.
In September 2015, the NCR told Naidu they sent a letter of demand to Nedbank asking them to remove him from the SAFPS Shamwari fraud database. On September 29 2015 Nedbank responded by denying they submitted a fraud indicator to SAFPS.
Naidu then sought legal assistance.
Besides losing lucrative business deals, I was not able to travel to international trade fairs that I was invited to for more possible business deals.
— Shaun Naidu
In February 2021 Ramiah and Associates challenged the fraud listing on behalf of Naidu via a new dispute process that SAFPS had put in place.
The following month, SAFPS sent a letter to Naidu advising him that Nedbank had instructed SAFPS to delete his listing after eight years.
In March 2024 Naidu sent Nedbank a letter of demand claiming financial damages. When the bank failed to respond, he instituted a civil claim at the Gauteng High Court for R39.8bn. The bank was served with a summons in April.
Naidu claims his import company was in the process of securing sole and exclusive distribution of international brands of food and beverage products from the US, China and Europe for South Africa. One of those was for a lucrative energy drink.
His damages were calculated on an estimated 6.25% market share he says he would have captured in the South African market from 2015 to 2024.
“Besides losing lucrative business deals, I was not able to travel to international trade fairs that I was invited to for more possible business deals. I believe my business would have benefited our economy and created thousands of jobs.
“My ability to derive an income was handicapped, which placed a burden on my parents financially as they had to support and accommodate me. Private investors shunned me once I disclosed that I had a fraud listing on my name. I was living hand to mouth, facing ridicule from family members and my peers who saw me as a failure while they achieved and succeeded in life. Then my father’s health took a turn for the worse. I struggled to try to make some income and when I lost my dad in 2022 things became even more difficult for me.”
Nedbank filed an exception to the summons on May 26.
“In the exception, Nedbank objected to the summons on the basis of a perceived defect in the formulation of the particulars of claims of the summons,” said Ramiah and Associates.
Nedbank told the Sunday Times: “As the matter is before court, Nedbank cannot comment at this time. We can however confirm that we are defending the matter.”
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