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The suspected fraudsters behind the destruction of VBS bank will face “insider” testimony when they go to trial. A former colleague will be spilling the beans.
Philip Truter, the disgraced former CFO of VBS Mutual Bank, has entered into a settlement with the National Prosecutor’s Office and will testify against his co-defendant in the upcoming R2 billion alleged fraud case.
This follows nearly a year of negotiations with prosecutors during which Truter secured a reduction in his likely jail sentence to 10 years, of which three will be suspended. He will also be held in a single cell “for security reasons”.
Truter’s incarceration compares to a normal minimum sentence of 15 years for most of the six charges he faces. These range from money laundering to fraud, theft and corruption.
Truter agreed to provide an affidavit and hundreds of pages of evidence, NPA sources say. He was convicted and jailed on Wednesday, October 7, after pleading guilty in accordance with his agreement under section 105A of the Criminal Procedure Act.
The deal was accepted by the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court.
Truter originally faced 22 different charges in the indictment filed by the NPA on June 17. Potentially, you still face the balance of all 22 counts (that is, 16 counts) if your testimony is found to be not genuine. This is because the NPA is using a mechanism created under section 204 of the Criminal Procedure Act that allows it not to press charges as a way to reward the cooperation of a defendant.
Now for the rest
Truter’s guilty plea and conviction came one day before his co-defendant appeared in court to plead guilty or not guilty. Among them are former VBS President and “brain” Tshifhiwa Matodzi, CEO Andile Ramavhunga and Treasurer Phophi Mukhodobwane.
Joining them will be the two former representatives of the Public Investment Corporation on the board of VBS, Paul Magula and Ernest Nesane. The latest defendant is Phalaphala Avhashoni Ramikosi, former CFO of the South African Police Service and also a former VBS board member.
They face 47 collective charges.
There were earlier public signs that Truter had broken ranks with the rest of the VBS team.
He was detained separately from his co-defendants, who were swept up simultaneously on June 17. The reason given for this was that he was isolated after coming into contact with someone infected with Covid-19. Truter was arrested the following week and consequently has not appeared in court with the others. – and now it probably never will.
AmaBhungane understands that it was, in fact, Truter’s repeated evasion of a plea deal that delayed the arrest of the VBS defendant for several months. DM
the Beetles Center for Investigative Journalism, an independent non-profit organization, produced this story. Like? Bean AmaB supporter to help us do more. Register in our Newsletter to get more.
