LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Barclays Bank: Zimbabwe
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Barclays bank is helping to bankroll President Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe, providing millions of pounds of support for his vilified land reforms, The Observer can reveal. Mugabe's opponents describe the bank's activities as a 'disgrace' and an 'insult' to the millions who have suffered human rights abuses.
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Despite the worldwide condemnation, Barclays, which faced criticism for operating in South Africa during the apartheid years, has remained one of only a handful of banks with extensive operations in Zimbabwe. It has recently been opening new branches in the country.
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Besides, agricultural loans are not funded by Barclays, but by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ). Barclays, like any other commercial bank operating within Zimbabwe, is disbursing ASPEF loans to farmers on behalf of the RBZ. Banks in Zimbabwe are reluctant to fund agricultural operations as the risk of default is perceived as high.
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"BARCLAYS is bankrolling President Robert Mugabe’s corrupt regime in Zimbabwe by providing substantial loans to cronies given land seized from white farmers. The British bank lent £750m to the country’s new landowning elite in the first half of this year, mostly through a government scheme to boost farm productivity. This weekend Barclays was under pressure to say whether it had lent money to five of Mugabe’s ministers — each named in European Union sanctions."
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