The Pretoria High Court has sentenced the former manager of the Fetakgomo-Tubatse Local Municipality, Johannes Mohlala, to five years in prison with a five-year suspension.
This is provided that he does not commit the same crime during that period, and pays R100,000 to the VBS curator.
The 60-year-old Mohlala had entered a guilty plea under S105A of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977. This is one of the sections of the larger VBS mutual bank inquiry.
Mohlala entered a guilty plea for violating the Municipal Finance Management Act’s (MFMA) S173(1).
Arrest warrant issued for accused number two
Police’s Colonel Katlego Mogale said a warrant of arrest for accused two, Tumelo Ratau, has been issued. It was issued for his failure to appear in court.
Mogale revealed that in July 2022, the third accused, Keaobaka Remigious Kgatitsoe, received a sentence of five years imprisonment. The sentence was wholly suspended for five years. Kgatitsoe appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Court, on the same municipality case relating to VBS investments.
“The trio, Mohlala, a former Municipal Manager, Ratau, former Chief Financial Officer for Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality, and a businessman, Keaobaka Kgatitsoe, were arrested in Pretoria on 16 November 2021. On allegations of the contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (Act No. 56 of 2003). This… for investing municipal funds with VBS Mutual Bank,” said Mogale.
Invested R230m of municipality funds into the now-defunct bank
He said their investigation revealed that Fetakgomo-Tubatse Local Municipality invested an amount of R230-million. This was paid in five trenches from November 15 2016 to February 19 2018.
The three appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in 2021. They were charged with contravention of section 173 of the Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (Act No. 56 of 2003). Also with corruption, and money laundering.
In the continuing saga of the now-defunct VBS bank’s financial crimes, the lawsuit continues to be the most important chapter.
During the scandal, many public officials were found to have engaged in fraudulent acts.
