Johannesburg - The curator of VBS bank will head back to court on Tuesday to ask for a provisional sequestration order to be granted against Robert Madzonga, the chief executive of Vele Investments - the bank's biggest shareholder.
The application is set to be heard in the high court in Johannesburg. VBS curator Anoosh Rooplal is trying to recover at least R1.5 billion which was allegedly looted by Madzonga, a former VBS chief operating officer, and other executives in what was described in court papers as a "fraudulent scheme of epic proportions".
Madzonga and other executives are accused of looting funds from the bank to fund Vele Investments and to finance their extravagant lifestyles.
The SA Reserve Bank (SARB) placed VBS under curatorship in March and its annual financial statements were found to be inaccurate.
The SARB said the possibility of fake deposits had since been uncovered and a forensic probe was underway to check whether any fraud was committed. It said at the time all retail deposits up to the amount of R50 000 per depositor would be guaranteed.
However, some 14 municipalities from the North West, Limpopo and Gauteng provinces who have owned up to depositing about R1.5 billion in total into VBS as part of a short-term investment, are unlikely to receive any money back.