The SACP wants individuals who were involved in the manipulation of the rand to be personally held liable.
The party said those implicated must be charged with corruption.
The SACP urged the Competition Commission to investigate currency rigging after 2013. The investigation was looking into the period from 2007 to 2013, but the SACP said it was possible this continued after 2013 and it must be investigated.
The Competition Commission, the South African Reserve Bank, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority and National Treaty appeared before the standing committee on finance in Parliament recently where they announced amendments to the law to prevent rand manipulation.
This comes after British bank Standard Chartered reached a settlement agreement with the competition commission over its involvement in currency manipulation.
The UK bank also agreed to give evidence against other banks.
National Treasury said the laws that will be tabled in parliament next year close the loopholes in the system.
Standard Charted was fined R43 million. But the SACP said fines imposed on guilty parties were low.
The SACP said on Sunday, following the meeting of its Central Committee, they want individuals involved in currency manipulation to be charged with corruption.
“The Central Committee reiterated the SACP’s stance. Individuals directly involved in manipulating our currency’s pair or exchange rate with other currencies must be held personally liable. They must be charged with corruption.
“ While fining the banks and other financial traders is important, the fines are low, mostly 10% of their annual turnover, and must be increased. Moreover, alone the fines are not enough to deter the manipulation of our currency given the astronomical profits that the implicated banks and financial traders control. The SACP therefore calls for new legislative measures to clamp down on the manipulation of our currency,” said the SACP.
The party also called for the competition commission to investigate if there was no rand manipulation after 2013.
The ANC and EFF also called for officials and individuals involved in the manipulation of the rand to face criminal charges.
They described currency rigging as an attack on the economy.
They said thousands of people were affected by the manipulation of the rand.
The standing committee on finance also said the conduct of officials and banks involved in the manipulation of the rand must be investigated.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
Politics