The civil rights organisation AfriForum said it will file criminal charges against Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leaders Julius Malema and Floyd Shivambu following claims that they financially benefited from the VBS mutual bank scandal.
AfriForum is accusing the two of corruption, fraud, and money laundering.
This comes after the bank’s chair, Tshifhiwa Matodzi, alleged that Malema and Shivambu were implicated in accepting illegal benefits from the bank.
Matodzi pleaded guilty to 33 charges, including corruption, theft, and money laundering. He stated that the EFF has received monthly donations and a so-called business loan of millions of rands from the bank since 2017 through a front company, Sgameka Projects.
According to Matodzi's allegations, the EFF received the money as a bribe, with Malema and Shivambu in particular benefiting personally.
Many low-income depositors in Limpopo were affected when more than R2 billion was taken from VBS.
In a statement, AfriForum's Kallie Kriel argued that Matodzi’s statement provides sufficient grounds for the NPA to obtain a preservation order on Malema and Shivambu’s assets.
"The state’s failure to prosecute Malema for his part in the On Point Engineering corruption case has apparently given him the impression that he is untouchable and that he can simply continue with his involvement in alleged corrupt activities.
"That is why it is important that Malema and Shivambu are prosecuted for the plundering of VBS, to send a very clear message that nobody is above the law," Kriel said.
Kriel said that should the State fail to prosecute Malema and Shivambu, AfriForum will consider private prosecution as an alternative. However, Malema and Shivambu maintained their innocence in the matter.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has also called for fresh action against alleged VBS corruption.
The party wrote to the Police Portfolio Committee Chair, Ian Cameron, requesting that he summons SAPS to appear before the committee and explain why there has been no progress into the charges that were laid against Malema and Shivambu in 2018 over VBS.
IOL Politics