Shivambu admits that VBS paid for his Range Rover

EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu has admitted that he upgraded his Range Rover with money from VBS bank.

Previously, the EFF deputy president denied that R680,000 paid to a Sandton dealership from his brother’s company Sgameka Projects was linked to VBS, both in a report in Mail & Guardian and on Twitter.

While he now admits it was, he says the money was clean, according to a new Mail & Guardian story.

The money was used to upgrade a previous Range Rover model to a newer Range Rover Sport.

Despite illustration that the car I own was bought through a trade in of a car financed long before any VBS and that the difference paid is nowhere close to the R1 million, the Foolish M&G stooge Journalists still write lies of Werkmans & Bernard Hotz (Pauli van Wyk’s friend).

— Floyd Shivambu (@FloydShivambu) September 20, 2019

Previously, Mail & Guardian reported that it had discovered alleged links between a vehicle he once owned, a Range Rover Sport, and illicit money from the looted VBS Mutual Bank.

The weekly reported that the car had been in Shivambu’s name until December, and the Hawks were looking into whether it was bought with VBS money.

However, the Hawks themselves have not confirmed whether this is true.

Shivambu allegedly paid cash for the vehicle, which retails at more than R1.1 million when new. His cousin now owns it.

Reiterating denials that were already reflected in the M&G article on Twitter, he said he’d bought the car through a trade-in, and that the difference he’d paid was nowhere near R1 million.

He accused the M&G of repeating “lies” its journalists were being told by lawyers allegedly friendly with another investigative journalist who has been a thorn in the side of the EFF, Pauli van Wyk.

The legal firm in question, Werksmans Attorneys, has been representing VBS liquidator Anoosh Rooplal.

The Daily Maverick released a report in November last year, detailing how its investigative journalism unit, Scorpio, found that both EFF leader Julius Malema and Shivambu knowingly and directly benefited from the “looting” of VBS Bank.

While the Mail & Guardian has previously linked Malema directly to the VBS scandal through his cousin, Daily Maverick has taken this one step further, verifying these claims through their investigation.

At a press conference on the VBS scandal, Malema demanded further documentary evidence from investigative journalist Pauli Van Wyk of payments that flowed from Shivambu’s brother Brian to Floyd and the EFF. Brian received more than R16 million in gratuitous payments from VBS, as detailed in advocate Terry Motau’s The Great Bank Heist report.

READ MORE: Shivambu brother suffers VBS court blow, ordered to repay millions – report

According to Daily Maverick, the EFF received more than R1.8 million from VBS, with the funds flowing from two sources acting as fronts. In addition to this, Malema allegedly received R430,000 in three installments, which he is believed to have spent on a luxury Sandown property where he lived from 2012, but which has now reportedly been transferred to the EFF.

Van Wyk also described Brian Shivambu’s press statement, in which he claimed to have only received money from Vele Investments, not VBS, as “a crude lie”.

The EFF were approached for comment, with answers from Malema and EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi denying knowledge of any link between VBS Bank and their party.

The EFF leader was asked by Van Wyk what action he would take “now that I have conclusively proven that you and the EFF received the proceeds of crime”.

“You have not proven anything except to show that you are obsessed with the EFF and its leadership. Continue your fishing expeditions. Good luck,” was Malema’s answer.

Ndlozi, meanwhile, denied that Daily Maverick or Scorpio had enough proof, saying “our answer provided during the press conference still stands”.

When asked if he and EFF’s leadership were aware of the R430,000 allegedly channeled into Malema’s property, Ndlozi answered cryptically: “It is not true, at least not for EFF purposes.”

According to Scorpio, Brian Shivambu and Malema’s cousin Matsobane Phaleng were the two major fronts enabling EFF to receive money from VBS.

The full report is available here.

(Compiled by Daniel Friedman)

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