The Ethics Committee has not made conclusive findings against Julius Malema over funds he allegedly received from VBS. Picture: IOL
EFF leader Julius Malema has been let off the hook on allegations that he received millions of rand from the VBS Mutual Bank.
The Ethics Committee said there was no conclusive evidence from the records they received that funds flowed from VBS into Malema’s account.
DA leader John Steenhuisen had lodged a complaint with the committee in 2019 that Malema had received millions from VBS.
Co-chairpersons of the committee, Bhekizwe Nkosi and Lydia Moshodi, said on Monday the investigation against Malema involved seeking financial records from the liquidator of VBS and the Financial Intelligence Centre.
In the report from the liquidator of VBS, they found no evidence that linked payments to Malema’s account.
When they sought financial records from the Financial Intelligence Centre, they could not get them because the FIC said it was not allowed in terms of the law to disclose such information.
Nkosi and Moshodi said the finding of the committee against Malema remained inconclusive and the matter was now closed.
The ethics committee said Steenhuisen had said in his complaint that Malema had violated the ethics code for not disclosing the millions he allegedly received from VBS.
“In considering the matter, the committee resolved to summon the liquidator in the VBS matter to furnish it with a report on the movement of money in the VBS scandal.
“The report was presented to the committee on August 23, 2021. In terms of the report, Sgameka Projects paid R4 803 180 into an Absa bank account belonging to Mahuna Investments.
“The Sgameka account was identified by the liquidator as the account into which money from VBS was paid and then transferred out into other bank accounts held by both natural and juristic persons.
“In terms of the report, the Member did not hold a bank account with the VBS. The report also indicates that no money was transferred from the Sgameka bank account to the member. There is no reference in the report to any account held by the Member that may implicate him in the VBS scandal.
“The committee resolved to summon the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) to obtain financial intelligence on whether the Member received money through Mahuna’s Absa bank account.
“The FIC held the view that in terms of section 40 the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, No 38 of 2001, it would be unlawful for it to provide the committee with financial intelligence.
“The committee was in the process of invoking section 14 of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act, 4 of 2004 against the FIC, but after receiving legal advice, did not proceed with issuing the summons.
“The committee noted that section 40 of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act prevented the committee from pursuing the allegations further.
“To this end, the committee’s investigation is inconclusive as the committee was not in possession of sufficient information to make a finding. The committee decided to close the file in the matter,” said Nkosi and Moshodi.
Steenhuisen had said in his complaint that Malema breached the ethics code by failing to declare in terms of the code that he received funds from the VBS Mutual Bank.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
Politics