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The VBS Mutual Bank “heist” saga of R2.3 billion took an unexpected turn when the prosecution announced that more people would be arrested in the alleged looting scheme.
These revelations emerged during the appearance of seven of the top executives of the deceased bank, who appeared Thursday in the court specialized in commercial crimes in Palmridge.
Prosecutor Hein van der Merwe requested a postponement to allow the state to make more arrests and amend the existing charge sheet with additional charges on top of the 47 that already exist.
The seven defendants are former VBS Chairman Tshifhiwa Matodzi, former CEO Andile Ramavhunga, former Treasurer Phophi Mukhodobwane, former KPMG Auditor Sipho Malaba, former VBS Non-Executive Director Lt. Gen. Avhashoni Ramikosi, as well as Ernest Nesane and Paul Magula, who represented the public. Investment Corporation as non-executive directors on the board of directors.
The prosecutor van der Merwe requested a postponement until January in the matter of the seven defendants because “more members will be arrested, the charge sheet will be modified and a date will be set for the trial.”
He said copies of the new file and charge sheet would be completed before the end of the year.
“Disclosures will be made before the end of this year. This includes copies of the charge sheet and the file. We are in an advanced stage and we are almost ready to formalize the new charge sheet, ”said van der Merwe.
The seven defendants indicated that they would plead not guilty to the charges of fraud, corruption, extortion, theft and money laundering if the charges went to trial.
The state has accused them of depleting the now-defunct mutual bank of nearly R2.3 billion by allegedly falsifying VBS’s financial statements for the fiscal year ending March 2017, to show that the business was solvent when, in fact, It was not.
The indictment, which the National Prosecutor’s Office (NPA) called a “prosecutor-driven investigation,” detailed an intricate two-year wave of looting that unfolded between April 2016 and March 2018.
On Wednesday, Phillip Truter, the former CFO of VBS, was sentenced to 10 years, three of which were suspended. He is the first senior executive to be sentenced in the VBS affair.
Matodzi, Ramavhunga, Truter and Mukhodobwane, according to the indictment, allegedly stole 262 million rand in 12 days during March 2017, “by creating fictitious credits” on 35 VBS accounts.
Lawyers for the defendants agreed to the postponement on Thursday. All seven are out on bail of 100,000 rand each and are expected to return to court in January for their third appearance.
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