The copyright act of 1978 (as amended) prohibits the reproduction of this copy IN ANY FORMAT, (See Clause 4 Terms and Conditions) without prior permission of the originalpublisher.

Publication

SUNDAY TRIBUNE

Page

1-4

Date

Sun 22 July 2018

AVE (ZAR)

11550.68

VBS chief executive breaks his silenceLEBOGANG SEALE

ONE of VBS Mutual Bank's topexecutives accused of looting theinstitution of more than R1.5billionhas maintained his innocence, asthe case looks set to be heard incourt on Tuesday.

Andile Ramavhunga, the bank'schief executive, appears to be theprimetarget of the State in its highcourt bid to sequestrate the per-sonal assets ofthe executives.

The State believes that, as the

bank's former chief executive,Ramavhunga still enjoys some con-trol over the bank's assets.

It also contends that he possesses"ill-gotten" properties and vehicles,allegedly acquired through the pro-ceeds of corruption and "stolen"from the bank, in what it says was afraud scheme of"epic proportions".

Ramavhunga and other VBSexecutives - chairman TshifhiwaMatodzi, chief financial officerNicholas Truter, former chief oper-ations officer Robert Madzonga and

head of treasury Phopi LondolaniMukhodobwane - allegedly livedthe high life, raiding deposits tobuy mansions, sports cars and ahelicopter.

Since the story on the allegedlooting broke earlier this year,Ramavhunga has remainedsilent.

Yesterday, however, he spokeout and denied culpability for thealleged fraud that had led to thecollapse ofthe bank and its subse-quent placement under curatorshipin March. TO PAGE 4

I'vebeenearningoveramillionsinceIwas27yearsold- RamavhungaFROM PAGE I

"THERE'S nowhere where they(the State) says I defrauded thebank... There's nowhere wherethey say I issued an instruction(to defraud the bank), there'snowhere where they say I tookpart in meetings or was part ofWhatsapp groups (to committhe fraud)," he said in an inter-view with Independent Media.

The court bid was broughtby curator Anoosh Rooplal, inan urgent application in theJohannesburg High Court.

Rooplal said the moveto- urgently- sequestr ateRamavhunga was "due to thefraud he, together with VeleInvestments and others, perpe-trated against VBS, its deposit-ors and local municipalities".

In his strongly wordedfounding affidavit, Rooplalcites Ramavhunga's "accept-ance of a R15 million 'bonuspayment'" to Dambale Hold-

CuratorAnooshRooplalhasbroughtanurgentapplicationinthehighcourtinJoburgto haveAndileRamavhunga,thebank'schiefexecutive,sequestratedfirst.

ings, a company he is a directorof, as the basis for the State'scase. He also lists amongRamavhunga's alleged irregu-larities that he:

PICTURE: @NWPGVT SD/TWITTER

& Created fictitious deposits,together with Mukhodobwane;® Instructed and facilitatedthe payment of R1.5m to indi-viduals who ensured that the

Passenger Rail Agency of SA(Prasa) placed a R1.5bn depositwith VBS; and,® Benefited from the clear-ance of an overdraft facility ofanother business, Shangri-La.

In his answering affidavit,Ramavhunga is adamant thathe did nothing wrong, insistingthat he was unfairly targeted.

He admitted receivingRiSm but denied that the pay-ment was a bonus. He said hereceived the payment after hisbusiness, Dambale Holdings,successfully brokered a dealthat saw Matodzi, who was alsothe chairman of Vele, purchaseanother business, MvunonalaHoldings.

He admitted, in his affidavit,to giving Mukhodobwaneinstructions for the R1.5m pay-ment for the Prasa deal butdenied that it was a bribe.

"In my whole, entire exist-ence, I have never met or satwith a Prasa official, never

been at their offices or restau-rant."

He also denied bribingmunicipal officials for theircouncils to bank with VBS.

In the founding affidavit,Rooplal suggests that thereis prima facie case againstRamavhunga and other VBSexecutives, saying the findingsfrom his own investigationhad been "fortified" by a probeconducted by Terry Motau SC,assisted by Werksmans Attor-neys.

"More egregious than theperpetration of a fraudulentscheme of such enormity isthat the fraudulent schemewas orchestrated by the high-est-ranking officials at VBS."

Rooplal added that the exec-utives paid themselves heftybonuses, which they "used tofund their lifestyles, purchaseimmovable property, buy high-end motor vehicles, and takeup shares and interests in

other entities".As with some of his col-

leagues, Ramavhunga blamedVBS's collapse on the Treas-ury letter instructing muni-cipalities not to deposit fundswith the bank as it was nota commercial bank. Seques-tration orders against the fiveexecutives would see themsurrendering their estates andfinancial affairs to a trusteeand their bank accounts frozenand assets seized.

Madzonga stands to lose abevy of luxury cars, some ofwhich his wife Khosi postedon social media. Apart fromthe helicopter, Madzonga alsoowned two Mercedes-Benz G63cars, a Rolls-Royce and an AudiR8 sports car. Matodzi boughta R6.5m Ferrari with moneyin VBS's possession. He hasdeclined to comment on thesequestration bid.

Among Ramavhunga'sassets listed by the State are

houses in Sundowner, Joburg(valued at RZm), and in LaLucia, Durban (RL6m), threevehicles - including a Mer-cedes-Benz R172, a BMW 4 Ser-les, an Audi A5 and a PorscheCayenne.

In his affidavit, however,Ramavhunga does not list anyMercedes-Benz. Instead, helists two Range Rovers and ahouse in Fourways and North-riding, among other assets.

"Did they say Andile ownsa Porsche? Did they say Andileowns a Ferrari? Did they sayAndile owns a property in CapeTown? You know whatthey do?They say these directors (andnot me)."

Quizzed about the Porschehe has listed, he said: "Yes,but when was it bought? Thehouse that they are alluding toand that which they want in LaLucia was sold in 2012, before Ieven joined VBS.

"(I stay in) Sundowner . I

don't stay in Sandton. I don'tstay in Morningside. There areposh suburbs in Rosebank (but)I stay in Fourways. What's soposh about Fourways?"

He added: "Just to put itin perspectiv e, I am turning39 (years) in October and Ihave been earning over a mil-lion since I was 27. Take awaybonuses that I make and counthow many millions I made inthose years.

"And now you tell me thatI can't own a house of R2m?I can't own a Porsche ofR1.4m? Think about it, thereare even more expensive Mer-cedes-Benzes on the road as wetalk right now."

VBS shot to prominence in2016 after it granted formerpresident Jacob Zuma a R7.$mloan for his Nkandla legal fees.

Ramavhunga defended thedecision, saying everythinghad been "more than overtheboard".