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Mboweni to reveal in budget statement how fallout from VBS scandal will be dealt with

Newly sworn in Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni
Newly sworn in Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni
Image: Esa Alexander

Finance minister Tito Mboweni says the government will provide more details on how it plans to deal with the fallout from the VBS scandal when he delivers the medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) next week.

Mboweni made his maiden appearance before parliament's standing committee on finance on Tuesday as part of a delegation to discuss the annual reports of the Treasury and Sars.

MPs wasted little time in grilling the delegation about the "great bank heist"‚ which is one of the biggest scandals to rock the banking sector in recent years.

DA MP David Maynier suggested that the government had weak regulatory systems and asked what action would be taken against those implicated and to prevent this from happening again in future.

Mboweni said it was clear that regulatory authorities had been let down by both internal and external auditors who turned a blind eye to the looting spree‚ which affected several poor municipalities and the elderly who had deposited their savings in the doomed bank.

A forensic report released last week‚ titled The Great Bank Heist‚ detailed how the bulk of the stolen funds‚ close to R2bn‚ allegedly benefited individuals and entities related to VBS executives‚ including its largest purported shareholder‚ Vele Investments.

Advocate Terry Motau and Werksmans Attorneys compiled the report‚ which was commissioned by the SA Reserve Bank

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