Parliament closes Malema's VBS Bank file due to lack of evidence

• Parliament's ethics committee has found that there is no evidence to charge EFF leader Julius Malema in connection with the VBS Mutual Bank debacle.
• DA leader John Steenhuisen used a 2019 Daily Maverick report in his complaint that Malema used the life savings of vulnerable VBS depositors and municipalities to fund his extravagant lifestyle.
• Damning findings were, however, made against Malema's deputy, Floyd Shivambu.

• Although Parliament's ethics committee made damning findings against EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu in connection with the VBS Mutual Bank scandal, party president Julius Malema was spared the legislature's wrath.

  On 18 October 2019, DA leader John Steenhuisen referred a complaint to the committee about Malema's alleged involvement in the VBS Mutual Bank scandal.

  The complainant referred to a 2019 Daily Maverick report that claimed Malema benefitted from VBS funds through Mahuna Investments.

• It also claimed Malema did not disclose the benefit in his 2017 and 2018 declarations of interests.

  Other claims included that Malema:

  • used the life savings of vulnerable VBS depositors and municipalities to fund his extravagant lifestyle, business interests and political aspirations;
  • used about R4.13 million which was paid to the EFF from an allegedly illegal sum of R16.1 million that was part of the illegitimate Sgameka Projects Company;
  • was involved in a scheme to mask the origin and ultimate beneficiaries of the funds; and
  • failed to disclose alleged connections with Mahuna Investments and misled Parliament to believe that he was not connected to it.

  In October 2019, the acting Registrar of Members' Interests, advocate Anthea Gordon, wrote to Malema to request a response to the allegations.

  He said: "This correspondence serves as both my acknowledgement of your letter and my official response. I think the letter is misdirected because I've nothing to do with the company in question. Next time come with something solid and not this newspaper junk. I've nothing to do with all this nonsense."

  The committee resolved to summon the liquidator in the VBS matter to furnish it with a report on the movement of money in the VBS scandal.

  READ | VBS returns to haunt Shivambu as lawmakers find he didn't disclose payments

  In August 2021, the liquidator's report was presented to the committee and it was reported that Sgameka Projects Pty Ltd paid R4 803 180.00 into an ABSA bank account of Mahuna Investments.

  The Sgameka account was identified by the liquidator as the account into which VBS money was paid before it was transferred to other bank accounts held by both natural and juristic persons.

  The report also stated that Malema did not have a bank account with VBS.

  "The liquidator did not have jurisdiction over the bank account of Mahuna held at ABSA Bank and therefore could not provide any evidence on whether the member received money through the ABSA held bank account of Mahuna," the committee's report read.

  The committee could not make a breach finding because it was not in possession of sufficient information to make a finding and therefore decided to close the file in the matter.

  Shivambu failed to disclose three payments from the now-defunct VBS bank.

  READ | VBS saga: Former Venda king on the hook for R5.6m after appeal bid falls flat

  Gordon made this revelation in response to a complaint by the DA.

  According to Gordan, the committee obtained an affidavit by the liquidator in the VBS liquidation matter which identified that three payments were made to Floyd Shivambu by Sgameka Projects Pty Ltd during 2017.

  The company belongs to Shivambu's brother, Brian.

  These payments are:

  • 18 August 2017: R100 000
  • 24 August 2017: R30 000
  • 26 August 2017: R50 000

  Committee co-chairperson Bekizwe Nkosi told News24 that MPs, in their deliberations, only considered a sanction provided for in the code.

  "Based on the deliberations it was decided to reduce the penalty to nine days because matters before it were confined only to non-disclosure and not any other matter under investigations by other law enforcement agencies and bodies," Nkosi said.

  ALSO READ | EFF spokesperson calls parliamentary misconduct charges against him a show of Ramaphosa's 'tyranny'

  In a statement, EFF national spokesperson Sinawo Tambo said the conclusion that Shivambu received a donation that was not declared was utterly false and not a reflection of reality.

  "The deputy president will take Parliament to court to overturn the Joint Committee's irrational and opportunistic conclusion and sanction. It is not in the powers of a Joint Committee to dispute the loans between people even when they have demonstrated beyond any sensible doubt that they had loaned each other money," he said.

  Tambo said they were confident of a successful court appeal.

• "In the circumstances nine days was found to be appropriate. The sanction is in our view adequate for such non-disclosure."

Read more