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Prosecutors in VBS Mutual Bank case expect more arrest

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Prosecutors in the VBS Mutual Bank case expect more arrests in connection with the estimated R2 billion looting at the bank. This emerged in the Commercial Crimes Court sitting in Palmridge, Johannesburg, where seven accused made a brief appearance this morning.  

They face 47 charges of theft, fraud, money laundering and racketeering.  

The case has been postponed to the 26th of March for the state to obtain an expanded racketeering certificate from the National Director of Public Prosecutions that could pave the way for more suspects to be charged.  

Last year, the bank’s former CFO, Phillip Truter, was sentenced to seven years in jail after pleading guilty and turning state witness. 

Seven of the accused were granted R100 000 bail each in June last year. 

The looting scandal became public knowledge in 2017 when the board of directors approved financial statements, making VBS look richer while it was insolvent.  

Hundreds of people have lost their monies, some thousands of rands that they had invested in the bank.  

On the other handdifferent municipalities across the country have lost millions.  

VBS is currently under liquidation.  

The accused are charged with racketeering, theft, fraud, corruption and money laundering.  

In the video below, Several top VBS insiders, including board members and the chief KPMG auditor for the bank arrested:

‘Payback the money’
A pensioner, who invested hundreds of thousands of rands of her late husband’s pension in VBS, is not convinced that the arrest of alleged VBS looters will bring positive results. 

Elisa Mudau says she fears that the accused may just pay fines, or bribe judicial officials and walk free without paying back the money. 

Mudau, a single parent, who invested all her late husband’s pension money into VBS, now suffers from ill-health. 

Her health deteriorated after news of the VBS looting broke over two years ago. She is one of over 3 000 depositors, including pensioners, whose money was stolen allegedly by bank executives and politicians. 

Depositors, who had deposited less than R100 000, were allowed to withdraw their money. 

Unlike most of the people who are happy that some of the alleged looters have been arrested, Mudau is not.  

She says she will only have a sense of peace once she gets her money back. 

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