Suitcases of cash seized in Bahamas in 2021 falsely linked to South Africa’s presidential protection unit

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A plane carrying the security personnel accompanying South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on a peace mission to Ukraine was delayed in Poland in June 2023, an incident that sparked a widely reported diplomatic fallout. Tweets showing suitcases filled with money claim that the undisclosed cash was found onboard the South African flight and was the reason for the delay. This is false; the image shows cash seized during a raid in the Bahamas in 2021.

“BREAKING NEWS:ALLEGEDLY "POLISH GOVERNMENT" FOUND A LOT "DOLLARS" STARCHED IN SUITCASES OF THE MEMBERS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL PROTECTION UNIT(RSA)..ONE OF THE REASONS THEY HELD THEM "HOSTAGE" (sic)”, reads a tweet published on June 17, 2023.

A screenshot of the false tweet, taken on June 21, 2023

The picture included in the tweet shows two suitcases packed with bundles of money.

Some who responded to the post believed it was genuine, but others shared screenshots of old articles to refute the claim.

A screenshot of comments replying to the tweet

The claim is, in fact, false.

Bahamas raid

Reverse image search results revealed the picture was published online on September 24, 2021, and featured in media reports (here and here) about a bust at the Inagua International Airport in the Bahamas (archived here and here).

According to the reports, two men were arrested after a search revealed four suitcases filled with cash on September 23, 2021.

A screenshot of a September 2021 article on the arrests in the Bahamas

The picture predates South Africa’s latest diplomatic drama by three years.

Diplomatic debacle

As reported by AFP on June 16, 2023 (archived here), a plane carrying Ramaphosa’s security personnel on a peace mission to Ukraine was held up in Poland.

The Polish government said that some of those onboard did not have permission to carry weapons into the country and could not disembark.

Head of the presidential protection services Major General Wally Rhoode disagreed, telling South African media aboard the flight that Polish authorities demanded original versions of the necessary permits, which had not been a prior requirement.

The African peace mission went ahead as planned for Ramaphosa and other African leaders and representatives from seven countries who met Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's President Vladimir Putin separately.

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