South Africa’s anti-corruption watchdog has cleared President Cyril Ramaphosa of any wrongdoing in a preliminary report into a cover-up scandal that has tarnished his reputation.

The Public Protector said it has notified implicated parties of the preliminary findings of its probe over the theft of large amounts of cash from Ramaphosa’s luxury Phala Phala farm – something the president is accused of having attempted to conceal.

Ramaphosa’s spokesman Vincent Magwenya said the president received the report after its details of were leaked to local media.

The scandal, which erupted in June, involved about $500,000 in cash that Ramaphosa acknowledged were stolen from beneath sofa cushions at his ranch.