DStv Channel 403 Wednesday, 04 December 2024

WATCH | The great VBS bank heist: 5 years on

THOHOYANDOU -  Advocate Terry Motau dubbed it 'The Great Bank Heist' when he released his report on the sorry affairs at VBS Mutual Bank.

Some of the bank's senior managers made away with over R2 billion.

Margaret Modau, a street vendor metres away from the bank, deposited money from her community stokvel each month.

She detailed the struggles of queuing for hours and sometimes overnight when news of the bank's collapse broke.

Modau says she did not get all of the money deposited by the community stokvel.

For the Mango family its been a nightmare trying to collect their money over the past five years.

89-year-old Rembete Mango has been struggling to retrieve money from both his savings and investment accounts, with the total amounting to over R160,000.

He says he was disappointed during his last attempt as it is clear he still had a long way to go before he will get his money.

The 89-year-old says his family often complains and puts pressure on him to get the money as they continue to struggle financially.

So far, 53 people have been implicated in the looting of the bank, including members of the ANC.

While the NPA nationally is seized with the majority of these matters, provincially, Limpopo officials are dealing with two cases.

Over a dozen Limpopo municipalities irregularly invested money into VBS, however the NPA is focused on two of them.

The Vhembe district invested over R300 million into the bank.

Municipal workers and unionists Ronald Mani and Timson Musetsho, were at the fore of exposing these irregular investments by municipalities.

Timson Musetsho's wife recalls the moment her husband was killed.

It was on 24 January 2019, while she was preparing supper in the kitchen.

Musetsho would find his lifeless body further into the yard.

She recalls how just a day earlier her husband came back visibly shaken after a work meeting.

The two unionists were killed days apart and their families are still reeling in pain.

Three locals are facing murder charges.

The families hope the suspects will reveal who ordered the hits on their loved ones

Some political parties and civil society organisations are continuing to fight for the victims to be fully compensated for the money they lost in the heist.

VBS Liquidator, Anoosh Rooplal, says he will conclude his liquidation and distribution report by the end of this year.

He says he will not be able to provide eNCA with an update until the report is finalised.

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