The other side of the VBS puzzle – Matodzi’s WhatsApps reveal purpose and payments to Malema and Shivambu’s slush funds

When knowledge of the VBS Mutual Bank robbery spilled into the public domain in October 2018, Brian Shivambu vehemently denied that he had received stolen funds from VBS Mutual Bank.

Advocate Terry Motau and law firm Werksmans, at the behest of the Reserve Bank (SARB), in their investigative report titled The Great Bank Heist, accused Shivambu of illegally receiving at least R16.1-million in stolen VBS money.

Shivambu’s explanation for the illicit VBS millions traced to the company he claimed to own, Sgameka Projects, was that he worked as a consultant for VBS-linked company Vele Investments and that all the transactions were legitimately earned. Scorpio proved, however, that Sgameka Projects had no invoices to show for work done, paid no tax, employees or any other operating costs and that stolen VBS money constituted the company’s sole income.

In follow-up investigations, Scorpio revealed that Economic Freedom Fighters president Julius Malema and deputy president Floyd Shivambu were the actual beneficiaries of the account. In reaction, Malema claimed that no VBS money had flowed into the EFF’s coffers and Shivambu accused this journalist of dubious agendas. They did not, however, challenge in court Scorpio’s revelations about how they stole from the poor in their own communities.



Now a never before seen WhatsApp discussion between former VBS chair Tshifhiwa Matodzi and former VBS treasurer Phophi Mukhodobwane not only again disproves the entire version cooked up by the brothers Shivambu and Malema, but also suggests a close relationship between Matodzi and the EFF leaders.



The brothers Shivambu and Malema did not react to Scorpio’s questions. Mukhodobwane declined to comment and Matodzi could not be reached.

Sgameka Projects offered no service

The year 2017 was a dramatic one for Matodzi. VBS’s finances were a perpetual headache and Matodzi had trouble keeping the VBS ship afloat. Between 2015 and December 2016, Matodzi had already stolen more than R140-million from VBS depositors. Much more was spent on auditors, lawyers, politicians and fixers to help keep the secret. The systematic robbery created a hole in VBS’s books that had to be carefully “managed”.

This is how it came that Matodzi and his right-hand man with control over the Emid banking system, Mukhodobwane, spent 2017 looking for politically connected fixers who could convince high net worth depositors – such as municipalities and state-owned entities – to invest money with VBS.

On 8 June 2017, Matodzi seemed to have identified such a helping hand.

At 12.01 on that day, he sent this WhatsApp to Mukhodobwane:

“Please trf R5m into this account from Malibongwe [Petroleum Pty Ltd] and pledge 4m sk that R1m is available.this [is] an extremely strategic account. (sic)”

“Pls add 600 k to sgameka they are undr immense pressure (sic)”.

“Nndaa can we do 350k for sgameka. Those are lobbying fees. (sic)”