Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has requested that a review of the Bankorp-CIEX report be postponed.

According to a report by EWN, the Public Protector has asked the deputy judge president of the North Gauteng High Court to delay the review of the report until January 2018, following reports that her legal team had withdrawn from the matter.

In a report released by the Public Protector in June, she calls for ABSA, which took over Bankorp in the early 1990s to pay back R1.125-billion for a bail-out Bankorp received from the Reserve Bank during the apartheid era.

ABSA and the Reserve Bank have both disputed that monies are outstanding and each filed separate applications to have the report reviewed.

In the affidavit ABSA filed in September, the bank said that it did not benefit from the financial assistance the Reserve Bank provided to Bankorp.

“In fact, (ABSA) suffered a loss from its acquisition of Bankorp,” the affidavit read. “The result is that the Public Protector’s finding that ABSA should repay R1.125-billion lacks a proper factual or analytical basis, and is unsustainable in law.”

A spokesperson from ABSA on Friday confirmed to Fin24 that it is aware of Mkhwebane’s request for postponement.

“We have written to the Deputy Judge President responding to the PP’s request. ABSA is anxious for the matter to be processed by the High Court expeditiously and accordingly opposes any undue delays.

“Despite numerous delays and glitches in getting a full record from the PP’s Office, ABSA has nonetheless endeavoured to abide by the timetable set by the High Court in July."

ABSA said it would await the deputy judge president to make a ruling on the request.

The Reserve Bank could not confirm knowledge of the matter and the office of the Public Protector has not yet responded to Fin24's request for comment.