‘Getting the chairperson of the bank confessing and agreeing to assist further in prosecuting the others is a major coup for the NPA,’ says Khaya Koko, investigations editor at the Mail & Guardian.
You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here. ADVERTISEMENT CONTINUE READING BELOW JEREMY MAGGS: The man described as the kingpin behind the brazen looting of more than R1.9 billion from the VBS Mutual Bank, pleading guilty to 33 charges, including theft, fraud, money laundering, and racketeering. The former VBS chairperson, Tshifhiwa Matodzi, has pleaded guilty as part of a plea and sentence agreement.
The allegations are that from April to the end of March 2017, the bank siphoned about R2.7 billion out of it by falsifying financial statements and making fictitious credits in order to channel the money into their personal accounts.VBS standing for Venda Banking Society, which was a mutual bank started by the royal family in the area. So a lot of people lost quite a bit of money.
Matodzi yesterday pleaded guilty to 33 of those. The total sentence, because the monies involved corruption over R500 000, they fall within the minimum sentencing act. KHAYA KOKO: I guess that he wanted to live a more comfortable existence. There’s no clear motivation other than greed, and that’s what the state alleges as well for the remaining accused. Matodzi, oddly enough, during his bail application had said that he would plead not guilty to the charges saying, and I’m quoting him, “I intend to have my day in court in order to prove my innocence.
JEREMY MAGGS: Well, let’s talk about that, in respect of this guilty plea, what impact has it had on ongoing investigations and prosecutions in this particular incident?
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