ActionSA is set to lay criminal charges against Minister of Justice, Thembi Simelane, over her controversial loan agreement connected to the now-collapsed VBS Mutual Bank. The charges, which stem from allegations of fraud and possible backdating of the loan contract, will be filed tomorrow at the Polokwane police station, according to the party’s spokesperson. The move follows reports surfacing over the weekend that the 2016 loan Simelane took may have been backdated to conceal irregularities.
Minister Simelane has been under intense scrutiny after it was revealed that in 2016, while still the mayor of Polokwane, she secured a R575,000 loan from Gundo Wealth Solutions, a company embroiled in the VBS Mutual Bank scandal. The investment brokerage firm, owned by Ralliom Razwinane, is currently at the center of fraud and money laundering investigations. Razwinane, now on trial, is accused of facilitating illegal investments for municipalities, which contributed to the massive financial collapse of VBS.
Polokwane Municipality, under Simelane’s leadership at the time, was one of the many municipalities that illegally invested in VBS, resulting in significant financial losses amounting to hundreds of millions. “It is well established that the so-called ‘loan’ was obtained from Gundo Wealth Solutions, the same firm that unlawfully invested R349 million of Polokwane Municipality’s funds into VBS,” an ActionSA representative stated.
ActionSA asserts that new revelations suggest the loan agreement may have been backdated, possibly to hide the true nature of the transaction. The party believes this irregularity necessitates a criminal investigation. “This latest information raises serious questions about the integrity of the loan agreement and whether an attempt was made to cover up misconduct. We will be filing criminal charges to get to the bottom of this,” ActionSA MP Malebo Kobe said in a statement. Kobe will be accompanied by Limpopo Provincial Chairperson Victor Mothemela to file the charges.
The damning allegations were first brought to light in a News24 report, which disclosed the peculiarities of the loan document. According to the report, the loan agreement, signed by Simelane, was drafted on plain white paper with no company logos, official letterheads, or director information. Additionally, the document’s language is said to contradict itself, with some sections written in both the future and past tense, further casting doubt on the authenticity of the contract.
As the scandal unfolds, the pressure on Minister Simelane is mounting. Her involvement in the VBS saga not only jeopardizes her position as Minister of Justice but also raises broader questions about the ethical responsibilities of public officials. If ActionSA’s criminal charges lead to an investigation, Simelane could face serious legal and political consequences.
This development is the latest in a series of high-profile scandals involving public officials linked to the VBS Mutual Bank, which collapsed in 2018 after it was found that over R2 billion had been siphoned from the bank through fraudulent activities. The ripple effects of the VBS scandal continue to shake South Africa’s political landscape, with the potential for more fallout as investigations progress.
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