The Independent insists Banc ABC denied Mugabe's son a $380 000 loan

The Zimbabwe Independent has published an article insisting that Banc ABC denied Robert Mugabe’s son Bellarmine Chatunga a US$380 000 loan. This comes after Banc ABC issued a press statement discrediting the story.

The Independent insists that Banc ABC issued the press statement due to political pressure and reports that Chatunga’s failure to secure a loan from BancABC is a rare example of prudent credit risk assessment by a local bank as most of them would be keen to lend to such a high-profile and well-connected individual.

They further report that the bank also desperately engaged a public relations agency, Magna Carta, after publication of the story on September 30 in an effort to have a detailed question-and-answer interview with the author of the story before resolving to flight press releases via the state-controlled media.