The Editorial Team |

Congo’s Top Court Bars Opposition Leader Bemba From Election

KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Democratic Republic of Congo’s top court disqualified opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba from this year’s presidential election because of his International Criminal Court conviction for witness-tampering. The decision confirms the removal of a second key opponent from the race against President Joseph Kabila’s anointed successor and increases the risk of protests by Bemba’s supporters. It also raises questions about the credibility of the Dec. 23 presidential and parliamentary votes in the cobalt-rich…

MTN Faces Double Nigeria Blow With Tax Claim of $2 Billion

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria is seeking about $2 billion in back taxes from MTN Group Limited, another curve ball directed at Africa’s biggest wireless carrier less than a week after it was ordered to refund $8.1 billion in illegally repatriated funds. MTN outlined the tax dispute and refuted both accusations in a statement on Tuesday, yet faces an uphill battle to convince investors it won’t end up shelling out for either or both offenses in…

U.S. Embassy Bombing Attempt in Cairo Misfires

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – An apparent attempt to bomb the American Embassy in Cairo failed on Tuesday when an explosive detonated prematurely in the backpack of a would-be attacker, the Egyptian government said in a statement. No one was injured. It was the latest reminder of the continuing threat to Western interests from the simmering unrest in Egypt that began after a military takeover five years ago. The Egyptian military is still battling to extinguish…

Nigerian Candidate Abubakar Vows to End Many Exchange Rates

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian presidential hopeful Atiku Abubakar said he will scrap a system of multiple exchange rates to attract foreign investment and accused President Muhammadu Buhari of failing to deal with the nation’s security challenges. “I would definitely end” the existence of several naira rates, Abubakar, a 71-year-old former vice president, told reporters Monday in Lagos, the commercial capital of Africa’s biggest oil producer. “It’s clearly anti-business and anti-foreign investment.” Investors and the International Monetary…

Bitcoin Suspect Could Shed Light on Russian Mueller Targets

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – A cryptocurrency expert languishing in a Greek jail may have a vantage point on a tantalizing issue — how Russians in U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s crosshairs used Bitcoin to obscure their money trail. The expert, Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik, was detained last year after U.S. prosecutors in San Francisco accused him of supervising a digital-currency exchange that helped criminals launder billions of dollars. That exchange, according to cryptocurrency analysis firm Elliptic, handled some…

South Africa Enters Recession as Ramaphosa Shares Zuma’s Start

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa unexpectedly fell into its first recession for almost a decade, exacerbating the rand’s decline amid the recent emerging-market rout and heaping pressure on President Cyril Ramaphosa. Africa’s most-industrialized economy shrank an annualized 0.7 percent in the second quarter, an outcome that was far worse than any forecaster had anticipated. The outcome casts a pall over the country’s new leadership, providing an uncomfortable parallel with the initial phase nine…

From UBS Trading Floor to Ghana: Adoboli’s Journey Nears End

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Seven years ago this week, a cryptic post appeared on UBS Group AG trader Kweku Adoboli’s Facebook page: “Need a miracle.” He was on his way to racking up a $2 billion shortfall that would become the biggest unauthorized trading loss in British history. Today, the 38-year-old is grasping for a miracle of another kind. He was detained Monday as a prelude to being deported to his native Ghana under U.K. rules governing crimes…

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