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The bank said that it was a "operational error".
(© Getty Images)
Russia's second-largest bank, VTB confirmed it has granted a loan of more than 800 billion rubles ($ 12 billion) to the Central African Republic after the announcement of several media.
"It's an operational mistake in the system when countries were coded," the bank said in a press release. "The VTB Bank does not have any exposure of this size to the CAR ", explained the lender.
The bank was responding to several newspaper reports mentioning the loan in its quarterly financial report, where $ 12 billion, more than six times the annual economic output of CAR, was mentioned.
A new version of quarterly data was released Wednesday on the central bank's website. The loan originally intended for the CAR added to that intended for Cyprus, a major trading partner for Russia, bringing the island's debt to $ 15.40 billion.
"A technical error"
"According to what we know, it was a technical error " confirmed Elvira Nabiullina, governor of the Central Bank of Russia. In Bangui, the spokesman of the Central African government, Ange Maxime Kazagui, denied knowing about the loan and said any suggestion that the money would have been received "does not seem credible because $ 11 billion exceeds CAR's debt capacity. "
He stated that "The Central African Republic has a budget of 455 million dollars and collaborates with the IMF " (International Monetary Fund). "We are subject to its refund guidelines, " he said.
"I think it was a mistake of the bank, it has nothing to do with the Central African Republic" he added. The news was followed by sarcasm on social media.
Translation: "For their next transfer, I will be happy to give them my bank details document !!"
Translation: "Can I have a loan too?"
Russia has recently invested a lot in the former French colony, supplying arms and contractors to the army in order to conclude peace agreements with armed groups, for which Moscow has benefited from. an exemption from the UN embargo.
Ranked as one of the poorest countries in the world despite an endowment of mineral resources including diamond and uranium, the CAR is a country of 5 million inhabitants emerging from a sectarian conflict.
Konbini News with AFP
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