How VBS kingpins pulled off Namibian heist

Evidence is mounting that VBS aided another elaborate bank heist in Namibia by producing fake paper trails and channelling stolen cash to fool regulators and auditors which led to the collapse of yet another small institution serving the poor and vulnerable. In February 2017, Namibia’s central bank seized control of SME Bank which was set up to serve small businesses and rural communities under circumstances similar to the collapse of VBS Mutual Bank a year later. An amaBhungane investigation reveals that SME’s Zimbabwean minority shareholders had allegedly siphoned off at least R380m and absconded across the border when authorities started circling. The Namibian Government is SME’s majority shareholder. Liquidators believe at least R270m of that money flowed to SA with the rest largely lost to Dubai. The report notes that VBS and individuals associated with it played important roles in the destruction of SME long before the VBS saga.