Tito to give VBS looters tough time

IN LESS than a week, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni will deliver his mid-term Budget Policy Statement and he will discuss steps the government will take to act on the VBS Mutual Bank scandal.

He has already spoken about the internal and external auditing mechanisms that allowed the bank to be looted, saying there was a failure on the auditor’s part while they acted in cahoots with management.

“When you have a large auditing firm failing us in the manner that this one has, it is a serious, serious concern,” Mboweni told Parliament this week.

But those implicated in the scandal will also have to be aware that the South African Revenue Service has now turned its sights on them.

Acting Sars commissioner Mark Kingon says Sars is following the money and is using advocate Terry Motau’s forensic report on the looting of VBS.

“We go through a strict governance process for case creation… and that is under way,” Kingon said.

“My concern is obviously not whether money was taken but whether it was taxed correctly. Even if a person incorrectly takes money, I still want my pound of flesh. I’m a taxman at heart.” Images of obscene and lavish spending by those allegedly involved in the looting have been splashed across the media.

However, it may well be Mboweni’s revelation of the steps to be taken and Kingon’s reference to his “pound of flesh” that will give those involved sleepless nights.