A Durban businessman who claims the embattled Ithala Bank owes him R13-million for his “spying” services has painted a picture of an institution at war with itself — where mistrust and fear have led to senior management spying on each other, bugging telephones, and intercepting emails of top executives.
Siyabonga Xulu, a director of Solbeth Protection and Risk Management, is demanding R13 million from the bank, claiming that his services were utilised by Ithala.
According to Xulu, Pearl Bhengu, a group CEO at Ithala Development Finance, approached him on an urgent basis, asking for assistance with intelligence and spying services.
She apparently feared for her life, suspecting that her movements and private life were being monitored.
“She came to my home in Durban and was accompanied by some people in a black BMW. She appeared distraught and scared.
“She wasted no time telling me that I had been recommended by some people I had done work for. She wanted me to find out whether her cellphones had been tapped.
“She was also concerned that her private life was being monitored. I told her that I needed an appointment letter before I could commence any work,” Xulu told Sunday World.
He further stated that Bhengu assured him that despite not being appointed through the procurement process, there was a provision that empowered the CEO to authorise emergency payments.
“I proceeded to conduct the risk assessment as per the verbal agreement. I detected that both the CEO and the CFO were being monitored via their cellphones. They were happy with the work I had done.
“I rendered the services for six months, and they kept on delaying paying for my services.
“The explanation I got from the CEO was that because she could not authorise payment exceeding R2-million, she would have to speak to the board chairperson for his intervention,” Xulu told Sunday World.
In a letter of demand seen by this newspaper and addressed to Bhengu, Xulu, through his lawyers, Theyagaraj Chetty Attorneys, is demanding to be paid a sum of R13-million.
“Our client, Solbeth Protection and Risk Management, met you, the chief executive officer, on Thursday, 1 August 2024, when you advised that you suspected that information was leaking from your office, which jeopardised your safety and the business and confidentiality of Ithala.
“As a matter of urgency, you required immediate assistance as follows to check if your phone was bugged.
“Our client confirmed that your phones were bugged and you required our client to determine the source of the bugs and be deactivated,” the letter of demand reads in part.
The letter also states that both Bhengu and Xulu agreed that payment would be effected upon receipt of the invoice.
“You indicated in WhatsApp to our client that you and the CFO were happy with the services received.
“You said payment needed to be serviced separately by various other companies, and our client refused to do so,” said the letter.
The Ithala board indicated that she was not authorised to conduct a security check on the institution’s system.
Sunday World has also seen a series of WhatsApp texts and telephonic conversations between Bhengu, Xulu, and Ithala Development Finance Corporation Limited board chairperson Sihle Mkhize.
In the conversations shared with Sunday World, both Bhengu and Mkhize assert that Xulu would be paid.
The shenanigans at Ithala coincide with the institution fighting for its life after a court application by the South African Reserve Bank.
The South African Reserve Bank wing, the Prudential Authority, wants it to be liquidated on grounds of insolvency.
This week the Special Investigating Unit also announced that it was investigating Ithala for malfeasance.
This relates to an alleged corruption and fraudulent activity during the awarding of a R34-million tender to IT company Tech Mahindra, which dates back to 2017.
