Capitec founder clears the air on DA donation amid Collen Malatji’s call to boycott the bank

Capitec Bank founder Michiel Le Roux has denied allegations he uses the bank’s money to fund the DA after ANC Youth League (ANCYL) Collen Malatji‘s call to boycott the bank. 

Malatji called for the public to boycott Capitec after its founder donated to the DA, saying the party was anti-blackness and the bank was anti-BEE. 

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“Banking with Capitec is a vote for the DA and a vote for anti-blackness,” he said. 

Banking with Capitec is a vote for the DA and a vote for anti-blackness.

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Dismissed MPs want MK party and Zuma bank accounts attached

— Thlologelo Collen Malatji (@Collen_Malatji3) September 24, 2023

Capitec Bank has no links with the DA 

Le Roux denied Capitec had any links with the DA, telling Sunday World the bank did not fund any political parties.

“Capitec does not fund any political parties,” he said. The statement was also echoed by the bank’s spokesperson Brownyn Pretorius.

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Le Roux said it was his other companies, Fynbos Ekwiteit and Fynbos Kapital, that donated R15 million to the DA in 2022.

In August last year, DA made the highest disclosure in party donations of R15,977,687.13.

The R15 million was donated by Fynbos Ekwiteit (Pty) Ltd and the rest by Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF), a German entity.

Who is Michiel Le Roux

Le Roux founded Capitec Bank in 2001 and owns roughly a 9% stake. He served as chairman of the board of Capitec from 2007 to 2016 and has continued as a board member.

According to Forbes, as of March 2023, Roux’s net worth was more than R18 billion.

Le Roux’s role in the DA is more than just donating millions, as News24 reported he was part of a delegation that met with former DA leader Mmusi Maimane, asking him to consider resigning in the party’s best interests.

He was also the author of the report the DA commissioned after its electoral performance in 2019.