“The former lead auditor of defunct VBS Mutual Bank, which was consumed by corruption of R2bn, has been declared persona non grata and never to be allowed to practice again over his role in the saga.”

“Sipho Malaba, who at the time of the looting of VBS was a senior auditor at KPMG, not only turned a blind eye to the glaring corruption but also benefited by more than R25m in underhanded loans — seen as gratification to help conceal the corruption that engulfed the mutual bank, perpetrated at the highest echelons of the company.”

“Malaba was found guilty on eight charges by a panel constituted by the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA).”

“The charges included his “ghost auditing” of the Industrial Development Corporation and medical scheme Spectramed, where he showed total disregard of his role, thus painting a picture of systematic failings on his part.”

“However, it was his role in the collapse of VBS, after he signed off on the unmodified audit report in the 2017 financial year in the face of serious evidence of corruption, that has drawn the sharpest rebuke from the IRBA.”

“Motau’s 148-page report, “VBS Mutual Bank: The Great Bank Heist”, released in October 2018, blew the lid off the looting that characterised the bank, from which about R2bn was syphoned in less than five years.”

“KPMG in 2024 agreed to pay VBS R500m to settle a lawsuit launched by the bank’s liquidators.”

“The liquidators initially demanded nearly R900m from KPMG over the shoddy work done in auditing the bank’s books.”

“VBS’s disgraced former CFO Philip Truter became the first person to be convicted in the VBS scandal in 2020 when he pleaded guilty to fraud, corruption, money-laundering and racketeering charges.”