South African President Cyril Ramaphosa committed no wrongdoing in the case of $4Mln stolen from his personal farm, acting public defender Kholeka Gcaleka said, as quoted by local media.
A parliamentary commission, formed after allegations of money-laundering had been levelled against Ramaphosa, published a report saying that the South African leader "may have committed" acts in contravention of the country's laws.
Ramaphosa categorically denied it. As French media noted, the report "paves the way for impeachment proceedings". The South African president later said he had no plans to resign over the investigation.
An inquiry by the the public protector found that Ramaphosa's handling of the case was not in violation of the constitution.
"No evidence could be found to underpin a finding or a conclusion that the president's utterances in the regard were a continuous act to be considered or construed as active involvement in business or paid work," Gcaleka said.
She added that, given all the evidence available, there is no reason to consider Ramaphosa's actions as participation in a possible conflict of interest, nor to say that he has violated any applicable laws of the country.
In June 2022, former South African National Commissioner of Correctional Services Arthur Fraser accused Ramaphosa of concealing more than $4Mln in stolen funds, and also claimed that workers at the president's farm where the funds were kept collaborated with criminals.
The accuser said he had evidence of the theft of the funds, including photographs, videos and bank account information. According to Fraser, the South African president then allegedly concealed the crime from police and the Internal Revenue Service.
In December 2022, the South African Parliament voted against starting impeachment proceedings against Ramaphosa.