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Home » Final Accused in Alleged VBS Heist to Plead Guilty to 47 Charges

Final Accused in Alleged VBS Heist to Plead Guilty to 47 Charges

The eighth suspect arrested over allegations of the R2 billion fraud at VBS Mutual Bank, Phillip Truter, appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes court today to face 47 charges of fraud, theft, money laundering, corruption and racketeering. Truter, the former Chief Financial Officer of VBS, was in quarantine when the other seven, including […]

By SAPeople Staff Writer
06-07-20 17:57
in Business
Photo: Twitter.

The eighth suspect arrested over allegations of the R2 billion fraud at VBS Mutual Bank, Phillip Truter, appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes court today to face 47 charges of fraud, theft, money laundering, corruption and racketeering.

Truter, the former Chief Financial Officer of VBS, was in quarantine when the other seven, including chairman Tshifhiwa Matodzi, were arrested on 17 June. Truter was released on R50,000 bail.

It was reported in several media outlets that Truter planned to plead guilty to all the charges and to turn state’s witness.

“Philip Truter has approached the state for negotiation with regards to his charges and has indicated that he intends to plead guilty. The prosecution team will indulge the accused,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Sipho Ngwema told Business Day.

In a report in Daily Maverick two months ago by Pauli van Wyk, it said, “Truter’s testimony seems valuable in tying KPMG auditor Sipho Malaba as well as VBS alleged robbers-in-chief Tshifhiwa Matodzi and Phophi Mukhodobwane to the scene of the crime.”

Truter’s case was postponed to 8 October, when he will appearing with the rest of the accused.

Last night Carte Blanche unravelled how the once trusted entity left so many destitute.If you’re overseas, you can watch this episode on Showmax International from tomorrow, Tuesday 7 July.