Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema says he is open to his finances being audited adding that there is no proof of any corruption committed by him regarding the VBS Mutual Bank scandal.
Malema was answering questions from five journalists from different South African media houses, including the SABC.
Malema and Floyd Shivambu are alleged to have benefitted from the VBS collapse via the companies, Sgameka and Mahuna Investments.
Malema has reiterated the party’s stance that the VBS Bank should not have been placed under curatorship, but should have been saved as it was the bank’s aim to benefit black people.
In the video below, EFF leader Julius Malema engages with 5 journalists:
NPA expects more VBS arrests
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says it expects more municipal officials to be arrested as investigations continue into the VBS Mutual Bank looting scandal.
The remark comes amid the charging of former Merafong Municipal CFO Thys Wienekus for alleged involvement in the embezzlement.
Wienekus is the first official to be charged in the matter. He appeared in court on Thursday and faces an irregular expenditure charge, under the Municipal Finance Management Act, for his alleged role in depositing R50 million with VBS in June 2017.
Seven other accused were granted R100 000 bail each last week. They include former VBS CEO Andile Ramavhunga. Only two of the suspects managed to post the bail.
Wienekus will appear in court again on July 29.
“Of course this is only one official with regards to that transaction so the investigation with regards to the others that may have been involved continues. In his position as a CFO, he was not in a position to have transferred that money. In terms of the investigating team, we started from the top with regards to the institution which is VBS. We are dealing in legs so this is the municipal leg of that investigation, there’s still a lot to be done,” says NPA spokesperson Sipho Ngwema.
In the video below, a pensioner who invested money with the bank seeks reimbursement:
