VBS Scandal Timeline, Key Players, and Ongoing Justice

The VBS (Venda Building Society) Mutual Bank scandal, often dubbed “The Great Bank Heist,” involves the systematic looting of approximately R2 billion from a small South African mutual bank between 2015 and 2018. Founded to serve underserved communities in Limpopo Province, the bank was exploited through fraudulent schemes, including fictitious deposits, non-repayable loans, and illegal municipal investments.

Key figures orchestrated bribes to politicians, municipal officials, and auditors in exchange for deposits and cover-ups. The scandal implicated high-profile individuals from politics (e.g., ANC and EFF members), royalty (Venda king), and bank executives. It led to the bank’s collapse, devastating poor depositors like burial societies and stokvels.

Investigations by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), Hawks, and National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) resulted in arrests, convictions, and asset recoveries. Trials are ongoing in courts like the Pretoria High Court, with delays pushing some cases into 2026. As of August 2025, 35 people have been arrested, 6 convicted, and about R730 million recovered for creditors.

Now the Timeline of Key Events

Below is a chronological timeline based on verified reports, including major milestones, implicated names, amounts looted or recovered, and court actions.

1. 1982: VBS is founded as the Venda Building Society in Limpopo Province, initially focusing on retail banking for black South Africans under apartheid, with deposits backed by burial societies and stokvels. It had limited assets (around R800 million by 2016) and shareholders including the Public Investment Corporation (PIC, 25% stake) and Dyambeu Investments (26%, majority-owned by the Venda royal family).
2. 1992: Rebranded as VBS Mutual Bank, expanding into mortgages and short-term loans.
3. 2014–2015: The bank begins aggressive growth under Chairman Tshifhiwa Matodzi. Executives, including CEO Andile Ramavhunga and CFO Philip Truter, conspire with middlemen like Kabelo Matsepe (former ANC Youth League leader) and Danny Msiza (former ANC Limpopo treasurer) to solicit illegal municipal deposits (prohibited under the Municipal Finance Management Act). Bribes are paid to officials for investments totalling R1.57 billion from at least 13 municipalities (e.g., Greater Giyani, Vhembe District). This marks the start of the looting scheme, involving shell companies and fictitious deposits.
4. 2016: VBS grants a R7.8 million loan to then-President Jacob Zuma to repay state funds for Nkandla homestead upgrades, drawing scrutiny. The bank reports inflated assets (R2.9 billion) in its annual financials, audited by KPMG partner Sipho Malaba, who allegedly helps conceal fraud. Looting intensifies: Matodzi receives R326 million in “gratuitous payments”; Venda King Toni Mphephu Ramabulana gets R18 million; EFF deputy leader Floyd Shivambu’s brother Brian Shivambu receives R16 million via Sgameka Projects; former PIC executive Ernest Nesane gets R16.64 million. Total siphoned: Over R1.9 billion through 53 entities and individuals.
5. July 4, 2017: VBS board approves falsified financial statements for the year ending March 31, 2017, hiding the fraud. National Treasury warns municipalities against depositing in mutual banks like VBS.
6. March 11, 2018: SARB places VBS under curatorship due to liquidity crisis (unable to honour withdrawals). Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene approves the move. Curator SizweNtsalubaGobodo uncovers massive fraud. Municipalities withdraw funds, exacerbating the collapse.
7. October 10, 2018: SARB releases forensic report by Advocate Terry Motau SC (“The Great Bank Heist”), detailing R1.9 billion looted via 53 beneficiaries. Recommends criminal probes. KPMG’s Malaba implicated for R34 million in payments.
8. November 13, 2018: North Gauteng High Court orders final liquidation of VBS; Anoosh Rooplal appointed liquidator. No government bailout for municipalities’ R1.57 billion losses.
9. June 2020: Hawks and NPA arrest eight suspects, including Matodzi, Ramavhunga, Truter, Malaba, Nesane, and former KPMG auditor Solani Chauke. Charges: 47 counts of theft, fraud, corruption, money laundering, and racketeering under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act. Bail hearings in Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.
10. October 2020: Truter pleads guilty to fraud, corruption, money laundering, and racketeering; sentenced to 10 years (3 suspended, effective 7 years) in Pretoria High Court.
11. November 16, 2021: Hawks arrest three more suspects for fraud.
12. February 2021: VBS liquidators sue KPMG for R863.5 million over audit failures; settled out-of-court in January 2024 for R500 million, distributed to creditors.
13. June 2021: PIC sues KPMG for R144 million losses; Brian Shivambu repays R4.55 million.
14. Early 2022: First liquidation dividends paid: 7 cents per rand (R159 million total, R110 million to municipalities). Retail depositors (up to R100,000) compensated via SARB guarantee in 2021.
15. October 2023: Parliamentary Ethics Committee finds Floyd Shivambu received VBS funds via transfers.
16. July 10, 2024: Matodzi pleads guilty to 33 counts (corruption, theft, fraud, money laundering, racketeering); sentenced to 15 years (concurrent) in Pretoria High Court under a Section 105A plea deal. His leaked 253-page affidavit implicates EFF leaders Julius Malema and Floyd Shivambu (R16 million via Brian Shivambu), ANC officials, and others.
17. August 2024: Pretoria High Court rules to separate trials of Matsepe and Msiza from 11 co-accused. NPA appeals to Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).
18. September 2024: Justice Minister Thembi Simelane denies corruption over a R575,600 loan from Gundo Wealth Solutions (linked to R349 million unlawful VBS investments).
19. November 11, 2024: Pretoria High Court postpones case against 13 accused (including Ramavhunga, Matsepe, Msiza) to February 17, 2025.
20. December 16, 2024: Liquidators recover 25.6% of losses (R458 million payout planned by January 2025: R291 million to municipalities).
21. February 6, 2025: Hawks report 35 arrests total (up from 33 in 2024), 6 convictions (including Truter and Matodzi), 29 on trial. Investigations ongoing for 43 more suspects; 5,455 statements recorded.
22. February 16, 2025: Additional recoveries reported for creditors (exact amount around R700 million cumulative).
23. February 17, 2025: Pretoria High Court hears NPA’s SCA appeal on trial separation; case against 13 accused stalled pending ruling, unlikely to proceed in 2025.
24. July 1, 2025: Prudential Authority reports R730 million clawed back from VBS wreckage for creditors.
25. August 2025 (Latest as of August 19): The main corruption trial (13 accused) is postponed to 2026 due to appeals and delays. Liquidators pursue former executives for R5.6 million in additional claims. No new arrests or convictions reported this month, but probes continue into EFF/ANC links (e.g., Zuma, Ramaphosa indirectly mentioned in affidavits). Victims, including poor depositors, express frustration over slow justice.

List of Convicted Individuals in the VBS Scandal

As of August 19, 2025, a total of 35 people have been arrested in connection with the VBS Mutual Bank scandal. However, only six have been convicted and sentenced to date. The remaining 29 are either awaiting trial, on bail, or under ongoing investigation.

Full lists of all 35 arrested individuals are not comprehensively detailed in public sources, but key arrested figures (beyond the convicted) include:

• Andile Ramavhunga (former VBS CEO),
• Sipho Malaba (former KPMG auditor),
• Phophi Mukhodobwane (former VBS treasurer),
• Solani Chauke (former KPMG auditor),
• Ernest Nesane (former PIC executive),
• Paul Magula (former PIC executive),
• Kabelo Matsepe (former ANC Youth League leader),
• Danny Msiza (former ANC Limpopo treasurer),
• Ralliom Razwinane (former municipal manager), and several municipal officials like
• Takunda Mucheke and
• Tshianeo Madadzhe.
• These individuals face charges including fraud, corruption, money laundering, and racketeering, with trials delayed until at least 2026 due to appeals and separations in the Pretoria High Court.

Below is a detailed list of the six convicted individuals, including their roles, approximate arrest and conviction dates, sentences (noting effective terms after suspensions or concurrency), and estimated years remaining as of August 19, 2025. Estimations assume sentences began around the conviction/sentencing date (common in South African cases unless specified otherwise) and do not account for potential parole (typically eligible after serving half to two-thirds of the term under South African law) or good behavior reductions, as no specific parole details are available. Suspended sentences mean no imprisonment unless conditions are breached, so remaining years are 0.