Two suspects arrested in Limpopo for alleged corruption and maladministration related to the investment made by the Thulamela Local Municipality in the now-defunct VBS Mutual Bank are expected to appear in the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
The suspects aged 49 and 52 were arrested by the Hawks on Monday in Thohoyandou.
The Thulamela Local Municipality invested R30 million in the bank but managed to get it back before the bank collapsed.
One of the suspects, a former Mayor in the Thulamela Local Municipality, is accused of accepting a vehicle valued at more than half a million rand through a well-known VBS money laundering third party.
The arrested former Mayor is currently serving as a councillor in the Vhembe district municipality.
The second suspect, who is still serving at the municipality as a senior official, allegedly contravened the Municipal Finance Management Act.
ANC spokesperson in Limpopo, Donald Selamolela, says the party will be monitoring all VBS-related court cases against its members with keen interest.
BREAKDOWN: Analysis of the VBS Mutual Bank saga
In July 2021, the African National Congress (ANC) in Limpopo recalled Thulamela Local Municipality Mayor Avhashoni Tshifhango, over R30 million the Thohoyadou-based municipality invested in VBS Mutual Bank.
Selamolela said, “The ANC provincial executive committee had on a special meeting held on Wednesday took a decision to withdraw and replace comrade Avhashoni Tshifhango as the Mayor of Thulamela Municipality and replace him with Humbulani Mulovhedzi who is the current speaker of Thulamela municipality.”
Selamolela adds that the ANC will from time to time take steps against its deployees whose municipalities also irregularly invested in VBS.
He said, “We continue to review reports and process them as they come in relation to this particular matter of the VBS. We committed to you as the media houses that whenever we get further information in any other matter we will continue to process those particular matters. When we release the seven matters earlier, a year or two years ago, we have made this commitment we continued to live up to that commitment.”
The investigation into the VBS scandal has been ongoing:
