25 March 2023 | 12:05 PM

Listen: Dewald van Rensburg on VBS and the NPA’s deal with ex-finance boss

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AmaBhungane’s Dewald van Rensburg spoke to EWN’s Bruce Whitfield, about the VBS Mutual Bank saga that took a twist in court this week.

The National Prosecuting Authority reached a plea agreement with disgraced former VBS chief financial officer Philip Truter.

In return for giving evidence for the state against his co-accused in the R2-billion alleged fraud case, Truter received a lighter prison sentence — ten years, of which three will be suspended for five tears. He will also be held in a single cell “for safety reasons”.

Listen to the full interview here.

Truter’s co-accused include former VBS chairman and “mastermind” Tshifhiwa Matodzi, chief executive Andile Ramavhunga and treasurer Phophi Mukhodobwane.

Alongside them will be the Public Investment Corporation’s two former representatives to the VBS board, Paul Magula and Ernest Nesane. The last accused is Phalaphala Avhashoni Ramikosi, the former chief financial officer of the South African Police Service and also a former board member of VBS.

They face a collective 47 charges.

Read Update: VBS finance boss Truter strikes deal with NPA

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INVESTIGATOR:

Aisha Abdool Karim

Aisha is a freelance science and health reporter. She is joining the amaB team to work on a project about water and sanitation. Aisha’s passion for long-form narrative and investigative journalism was sparked while doing her master’s degree at Columbia University in New York. After graduating in 2018, she returned to South Africa and began working as a general beat reporter for the Daily Maverick. Aisha joined the Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism in 2020 to focus on science reporting. During her time there, she covered the COVID-19 pandemic extensively — from fact-checking harmful medical misinformation to unpacking the science behind vaccine development. Aisha’s special interests include analysing health systems and in-depth coverage of public health issues and infectious diseases. She also loves spreadsheets and digging through data.