VBS corruption: Mayor and municipal manager granted R30,000 bail

The former mayor of Thulamela Local Municipality in Limpopo, Avhashoni Tshifhango, and municipal manager Hlengani Maluleke were on Tuesday granted R30,000 bail each after they made a brief appearance at the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court.

The two were arrested by the Hawks on Monday morning on allegations of their involvement in corruption and maladministration at the now defunct VBS Mutual Bank.

The Hawks said on Tuesday it cannot rule out the possibility of making more arrests in the municipality and elsewhere.

Tshifhango allegedly accepted a Jeep Cherokee, valued at over R638,000, through a well-known VBS money laundering third party, while Maluleke invested R30 million of the municipality’s money in VBS in contravention of the Municipal Finance Act.

Police spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said that the two arrests has since taken the number of people arrested for corrupt activities tied to the VBS scandal to 25.

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“So far, 25 people have already been arrested and are in the criminal justice system. They face more than 100 charges,” said Mogale.

“The accused (Tshifhango and Maluleke) are to surrender their passports to the investigating officer, they are not to make contact with witnesses directly or indirectly and if they would like to leave the country for any reason, the request must be made to the investigating officer.

“More suspects are expected to be arrested during the course of the investigation as about 20 municipalities in Limpopo, North West and Gauteng lost nearly R1.6 billion after illegally investing with the bank.

The matter was postponed to 24 May 2022 in the Polokwane Specialised Commercial Crimes Court. 

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