The loan was paid directly to the owner of a coffee shop in Sandton, which Simelane was purchasing, in late 2016.Justice Minister Thembi Simelane took a loan of more than half-a-million rand from a company that brokered unlawful investments of R349 million into VBS Bank by the Polokwane Municipality – while she was mayor of the city in 2016.
Investigators found these to be corrupt transactions and contraventions of the Municipal Finance Management Act. In turn, Razwinane paid R575 600, almost 35% of his kickbacks, to a company called Ricovert, the then-owner of Silvanas Coffee Shop on the ground floor of Fredman Towers, in Sandton. Nor did she comment on the apparent conflict of interest created when she used Gundo as her personal service provider while the company offered"advice" to the municipality where she was the mayor. Between September 2016 and May 2017, the Polokwane Municipality made at least five unlawful investments in VBS Bank, totalling R349 million.
Sources familiar with the investigation said one of these"corrupt payments", for the benefit of a"municipal official", was paid towards a coffee shop. A report by Crowe Forensics flagged the transaction for further investigation by law enforcement.