Tebogo Msimanga |
Two accused, former mayor of Thulamela Local Municipality, Avhashoni Tshifhango and Municipal Manager Hlengani Maluleke appeared before the Thohoyandou Magistrates’ court on Monday morning and were granted bail of R30 000 each. They were arrested on Sunday morning, 13 January 2022 on allegations of corruption and maladministration.
Hawks spokesperson Katlego Mogale said this is following an intensive, prosecution aimed investigation by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation into the inappropriate administering of state funds into the Venda Mutual Bank by the Thulamela Local Municipality. The investigation revealed that the municipality invested an amount of R30 million into VBS.
“The former mayor accepted a Jeep Cherokee valued at over R638 000 through a well-known VBS money laundering third party. The Municipal manager invested R30 million of the municipality money into VBS in contravention of the Municipal Finance Act.”
The matter is postponed to 24 May 2022 in the Polokwane Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
Mogale said so far, 25 people have already been arrested and are in the criminal justice system. They face more than 100 charges. “More suspects are expected to be arrested during the course of the investigation as about 20 municipalities in Limpopo, North West and Gauteng lost nearly R1.6 billion after illegally investing with the bank.”
