Corruption
A 2018 report released by the SARB in October found evidence of wide-scale looting, fraud and corruption.[4] It recommended that bank leadership, public officials and auditors be criminally charged and held liable in civil proceedings.[14] The report found that R1,894,923,674 was transferred from the Bank to fifty three individuals between 15 March 2015 and 17 June 2018.[4] According to the report, R16,148,569[15] of that money went to Brian Shivambu, younger brother of the former Economic Freedom Fighter senior politician Floyd Shivambu.[16][17][18][19] The report also implicated the African National Congress's deputy chairperson for Limpopo, Florence Radzilani, and treasurer, Danny Msiza.[20]
EFF leader Julius Malema sued a former EFF senior member of his party for alleging that Malema had admitted to him that he benefitted from corruption at VBS. Malema later withdrew the lawsuit.[21] By June 2021 Brian Shivambu paid back R4.55 million and admitted that he received VBS money.[22] Jacob Zuma defaulted on a R7.8 million loan that he obtained to finance his Nkandla homestead.[23]
In June 2020 eight people associated with VBS and the bank's auditor, KPMG, were charged by the NPA on 47 counts of theft, fraud, corruption and contraventions of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.[24] Chairperson Tshifhiwa Matodzi, CEO Andile Ramavhunga and CFO Philip Truter were among those arrested and charged.[25]
As part of ongoing investigations, the Hawks arrested three additional individuals suspected of fraud on 16 November 2021.[26] In October 2023 the Parliamentary Ethics Committee found that former EFF deputy leader Floyd Shivambu had received VBS money through transfers from Sgameka Projects Pty Ltd. totaling R180,000 but that no evidence could be found that EFF leader Julius Malema had received any of the VBS Bank missing funds.[27]
In July 2024 former chairperson Tshifhiwa Matodzi was sentenced to an effective 15 years in prison on multiple counts of fraud, racketeering, money laundering and theft.[28]
Thembi Simelane is set to appear before the ANC integrity committee on the 02 September 2024 to answer for the money she received from VBS. Simelane allegedly received a R586,000 loan from VBS Mutual Bank through a company that provided the loan .[29] On the 6th September 2024 embattled Justice Minister Thembi Simelane on Friday told MPs she took a loan from a financial entity that served as a fixer for VBS Mutual Bank at an interest rate of nearly 50% because she was unable to borrow money from a commercial bank on better terms.[30]
