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By Daniel Friedman

2 minute read

10 Oct 2018

02:59 pm

Shivambu’s brother allegedly pocketed R16m from VBS Bank

The alleged involvement of Brian Shivambu has led to questions surrounding the EFF's shows of support for VBS Bank.

Floyd Shivambu, Julius Malema and Godrich Gardee. Picture: Twitter/EFF

A report called The Great Bank Heist looking into the alleged looting of VBS Bank and compiled by advocate Terry Motau assisted by Werksmans Attorneys, has implicated EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu’s brother Brian as one of more than 50 people who “gratuitously” received money from VBS Bank.

“It emerges from the forensic accountants’ report that the amount of R1,894,923,674 was gratuitously received from VBS by some 53 persons of interest, both natural and juristic, over the period 1 March 2015 to 17 June 2018,” Motau writes.

He then lists the alleged recipients, with Shivambu’s brother on the list as having allegedly benefited from a sum of more than R16 million.

READ MORE: ‘The Great Bank Heist’ report reveals wide-scale looting at VBS – report

While the involvement of Shivambu’s brother in this matter does not in any way automatically implicated the EFF second-in-command himself, the revelation has led to questions surrounding the party’s defences of VBS Bank.

While usually showing a vehement anti-corruption stance, the party seems to have supported the bank and alleged that it had been “victimised”.

READ MORE: VBS Mutual Bank ‘victimised for giving Zuma a loan’, says EFF

“The EFF is aware that VBS is being victimised due to a loan it gave to Mr Jacob Zuma for a house in Nkandla. Had it been a white-owned bank that had offered Zuma a loan, they would not be subject to victimisation today,” the party said in a statement back in March.

Around the same time, party leader Julius Malema called for a picket at the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) over what he called an attack on the bank.

“We can’t have the black-owned bank attacked,” he said, adding that he believed it to be the only bank willing to give mortgages to black people in rural areas.”