Hawks head Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya says he expects imminent action in the case against those responsible for looting the now-defunct VBS Mutual Bank.

According to a News24 report, Lebeya said that certain ‘legs’ of the VBS investigation had been finalised and were ‘ready’ to go. The SA Reserve Bank is the complainant in the criminal case being investigated by the Hawks.

Lebeya said that, while certain parts of the investigation are completed, investigators have to act strategically in carrying out arrests.

‘You see, when you are dealing with complicated matters, you cut them into legs. As I speak, I can say that, from my point of view, there are certain legs that are ready. But it's not all the legs that are ready. We don't wait for all the legs, but you have got to do it strategically so that, when you hit one, the other birds don’t fly away elsewhere.’

He added he expected movement on the case some time ago already, but it is up to prosecutors to decide when to act.

‘We can expect movement. I also expect movement. I would have expected it a long time ago, but we are not working alone here. We are working with others so that interrogation management, if you can look at the process that takes place before you deal with that one leg, it is massive but it will be unpacked when we take that one.’

Full News24 report

On the issue of VBS' liquidation, municipalities, the SARB and the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) are among institutions that have successfully made claims against the bank.

According to a Fin24 report, the liquidators met with municipalities, institutions and individual retail creditors in Polokwane on Friday under the auspices of the Master of the Limpopo High Court.

Of the 16 affected municipalities, two were able to withdraw their funds prior to Friday's meeting – Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality in North West and JS Moroka Local Municipality in Mpumalanga. The wait continues for the remaining 14, although AG Kimi Makwetu wrote in his consolidated report of local government audit outcomes that these municipalities are unlikely to get the amounts they deposited back.

VBS liquidator Anoosh Rooplal said he was pleased to see the bulk of creditors present their claims before the presiding officer, as the majority of the municipality depositors who submitted claims and attended the meeting had their claims accepted.

‘A total of 610 retail depositors, which included individuals, stokvels, legal firms and church groups, and who had more than R100 000 invested at VBS, also had their claims accepted, as did 17 VBS employees,’ said Rooplal.

Rooplal said claims by the SARB and the PIC were among those of other corporate depositors that had also been accepted.

According to the Fin24 report, he said the liquidation and distribution account will be distributed to the Master of the High Court, but that this would take some time due to the sale of assets that must take place first. ‘I went beyond my ordinary obligations to inform creditors of Friday's meeting and made arrangements to assist retail creditors and employees with their claim forms. I am very pleased with the outcome of Friday’s meeting,’ Rooplal said.

Full Fin24 report