South Africa's President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 25, 2018. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

Home » Ramaphosa Rejects Report He Knew About Looting at VBS Bank

Ramaphosa Rejects Report He Knew About Looting at VBS Bank

JOHANNESBURG – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday rejected a newspaper report that he failed to stop R1.9 billion ($132 million) being illegally siphoned from VBS Mutual Bank. City Press reported on Sunday that sources close to a major VBS shareholder said the shareholder had informed Ramaphosa about what was going on when he […]

By SAPeople
15-10-18 21:19
in Business
South Africa's President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 25, 2018. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

JOHANNESBURG – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday rejected a newspaper report that he failed to stop R1.9 billion ($132 million) being illegally siphoned from VBS Mutual Bank.

South Africa’s President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 25, 2018. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

City Press reported on Sunday that sources close to a major VBS shareholder said the shareholder had informed Ramaphosa about what was going on when he was deputy president.

The shareholder reportedly started blowing the whistle in 2016.

In a statement, the South African president’s office said the allegation that Ramaphosa was informed of the looting at VBS and failed to take action was “baseless and unsubstantiated”.

A report commissioned by the central bank titled “The Great Bank Heist” found the money had been looted by several people from VBS, a small lender that bailed out former president Jacob Zuma after his Nkandla corruption scandal.

The Presidency’s statement today said the looting was brought to Ramaphosa’s attention through official channels including the National Treasury.

“The Presidency categorically rejects reports that … Ramaphosa failed to take action on the VBS Bank saga despite being alerted to irregularities back in 2017,” his office said.

Ramaphosa urged prosecutors to act against the culprits.

The bank was thrust into the spotlight in 2016 when it provided a R7.8 million loan to Zuma to reimburse the state for upgrades to his private residence, after an outcry over lavish improvements including a swimming pool and amphitheatre.

In a ruling that hit Zuma financially and politically, the Constitutional Court ordered him to return some of the $16 million spent on enhancing the residence.

The report by the central bank released last week on its website said VBS was “corrupt and rotten to the core”. It recommended that criminal charges be laid against those individuals alleged to have looted the almost R2-billion from the financial institution.

In March, VBS was placed under curatorship by the central bank because of liquidity issues, meaning it can appoint an administrator to run the bank.

The Presidency urged South Africans not to be misled by attempts to divert attention away from those responsible.

(Reporting by James Macharia; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)

WATCH Floyd Shivambu’s brother received R16-million from VBS of which Floyd was allegedly given R10-million

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The Democratic Alliance says it will request Parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interest to investigate the EFF’s Chief Whip, Floyd Shivambu, for the alleged payments received from VBS Mutual Bank.

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