Hawks raid offices of Simelane’s former assistant
The Hawks executed a search and seizure warrant on Justice Minister Thembi Simelane's former personal assistant, based at the Polokwane Municipality, last week to secure possible evidence of corruption linked to the municipality's R349m investment with VBS Mutual Bank in 2016 and 2017.
Simelane, who was the mayor of the municipality between 2014 and 2021, became an ultimate beneficiary of VBS-loot when she received an allegedly dubious R575 600 ‘loan’ from a VBS fixer to buy a coffee shop in Sandton.
According to News24, this transaction forms part of the Hawks' investigation.
News24 and Daily Maverick have seen a copy of the warrant, dated 29 August 2024, and a copy of the affidavit filed by Colonel Anton White of the Hawks in Limpopo in support of the warrant.
They reveal that a case relating to the R349m the Polokwane Municipality invested with VBS between 2016 and 2017 was registered in November 2019 with investigations focused on a possible violation of the Municipal Financial Management Act, possible corruption and possible money laundering in alleged contravention of the Prevention of Corrupt Activities Act.
So far, VBS fixer Ralliom Razwinane, the owner of Gundo Wealth Solutions which paid for the coffee shop ‘loan’ has been arrested.
He stands trial on 13 counts of corruption as part of the main criminal case around the R2bn theft that collapsed the bank in early 2018, reports News24.
Prosecutors have labelled the payments corrupt, according to an indictment handed to the High Court.
The warrant was obtained in secret to prevent possible suspects of the investigation from being alerted.
It leaked in the meantime and now circulates in political circles in Polokwane. The Hawks quietly visited the municipal officers in Burger Street on 30 August, according to two sources. The warrant demanded that the former personal assistant (PA) hand over cellphones, laptop, documents and the passwords to their private email accounts.
In his affidavit in support of the warrant, White reveals that WhatsApp texts were sent to the PA ‘relating to VBS, Gundo and Razwinane’.
He argued that the PA was central to ‘the flow of communication between municipal officials, Gundo and Razwinane’.
The PA is not being named as it appears the person is not a target of the criminal investigation, but was merely the functionary who the Hawks believe has access to information they need.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
