Durban entrepreneur Shaun Naidu is taking Nedbank to court in what could become one of South Africa’s most significant legal battles against a financial institution. Naidu has filed a staggering R40 billion lawsuit, claiming the bank wrongfully flagged him as a fraud suspect—an act he says destroyed his business, reputation, and personal life for nearly a decade.
The issue surfaced in 2015 when Naidu was denied a bank account and discovered he had been blacklisted on the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) database. He produced a police clearance certificate confirming he had no criminal record, but Nedbank allegedly denied any involvement in the listing at the time.
What followed was an eight-year fight to restore his name. Naidu lodged a complaint with the National Credit Regulator in 2015 and formally disputed the listing with SAFPS in 2021. Only in 2023—after Nedbank finally instructed SAFPS to remove the flag—was his record cleared.
In March 2024, Naidu filed a formal damages claim for R39.8 billion, citing the collapse of major international business opportunities, restrictions on global travel, and severe reputational harm. “My business had the potential to create thousands of jobs and contribute meaningfully to the economy,” he told the Sunday Times.
Nedbank has dismissed the lawsuit as “defective” and is preparing to fight the claim in court. While the bank has refused further public comment, legal experts suggest the case could reshape accountability standards for South African financial institutions when it comes to blacklisting and due process.
As proceedings begin, the outcome could establish a landmark precedent—raising serious questions about how easily lives and livelihoods can be upended by a single, unverified listing.
