The National Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) Lt Gen Godfrey Lebeya announced that arrests have been made in relation to the looting of Venda Building Society (VBS).
Lebeya and the National Director of Public Prosecution Adv Shamila Batohi briefed the media on the progress into the VBS investigation this afternoon.
Lebeya said the arrests were made during simultaneous operations in Gauteng and Limpopo.
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“The team executed warrants of arrests on four of eight main suspects. Three are expected to hand themselves over. The eighth suspect has been affected by Covid-19 quarantine regulations.”
“The DPCI has been working on this matter since August 2018. We have been investigating it as an inquiry and it was converted to a police docket,” he said.
The suspects will be charged on 47 counts of various criminal offences. These include five counts of a pattern of racketeering activities, 12 counts of theft, common law offences, seven counts of fraud, 15 counts for corruption and seven counts of money laundering.
Lebeya told the media that the investigation revealed that on March 11, 2018, there was a general deficiency in the monies received by VBS, which amounted to more than R2.2-billion.
“The scam was hashed on July 4, 2017, when the board of directors for VBS approved financial statements for the financial year ending on March 31, 2017, making VBS look richer while it was insolvent.
“The eight suspects either unduly directly or indirectly benefited more than R120-million.
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“The investigation revealed that 20 municipalities deposited an amount of R3.7-billion of which R2.2-billion was paid back.
“The suspects will appear in the Palm Ridge Regional Court on Thursday.
“Whilst today’s developments are an important milestone, a lot of work lies ahead. Although it is imperative that we move with speed to finalise these matters, the team has to be meticulous and go through all the evidence with a fine tooth comb,” said Batohi.
