The People vs VBS: Check Out the Trailer for the True Story Behind the South African Bank’s Financial Crisis
EXCLUSIVE: South Africa’s most significant financial scandal is set to be featured on television.
The documentary series The People vs. VBS, produced by IdeaCandy for Showmax, explores the tumultuous case of VBS Mutual Bank, which continues to be litigated nearly a decade after the fraudulent activities were uncovered.
This four-part series will be released over two Wednesdays, beginning March 25, as a Showmax original. Directed by Richard Finn Gregory, the series features producers Elle Oosthuizen and Wim Steyn, who previously collaborated on the 2022 documentary Steinheist, also centered on corruption in South Africa. Their work on School Ties earned a nomination for the 2025 International Emmy.
The series will include interviews with key figures such as VBS co-founder Madambi Muvhulawa; Lesetja Kganyago, governor of the South African Reserve Bank; former Public Investment Corporation CEO Dan Matjila; Julius Malema, founder of the Economic Freedom Fighters; and investigative journalists Dewald van Rensburg, author of VBS: A Dream Defrauded, and Pauli van Wyk, who co-authored Malema: Money. Power. Patronage.
VBS Mutual Bank was declared insolvent in 2018 following reports that the institution had been defrauding customers of billions of rand. Investigations revealed that the alleged fraud was orchestrated by the bank’s executives, implicating numerous officials and employees.
The documentary will detail how the once-small mutual bank became embroiled with multinational auditors, political parties, a royal household, and a former president. Court proceedings continue nearly eight years after the bank’s collapse, an event that resulted in the loss of life savings for many ordinary people.
Among the serious allegations presented in the documentary are claims of R5 million in cash leaving VBS via helicopter; a mayor soliciting “Christmas presents”; and the assassination of whistle-blowers.
The story of VBS gained widespread attention in 2016, when the bank lent then-President Jacob Zuma over R7 million to repay funds for non-security-related improvements to his Nkandla homestead, a sum that exceeded the bank’s annual net profit.
Established in 1982, VBS was a black-owned bank that played a crucial role in financial development within South Africa, often seen as a model for future institutions. However, following a management shift, allegations surfaced that the bank began operating like a pyramid scheme. The situation escalated in March 2018 when VBS missed payments and was placed under curatorship, leading to widespread concern among depositors.
“This is a cautionary tale about what happens when a legitimate desire for progress – to take a bank into the modern era – gets hijacked by compromised individuals,” said director Gregory. “The money at stake was just too big for people to resist and, ultimately, the victims were those who needed VBS the most: the rural villagers of the VhaVenda community.” After its premiere on Showmax, The People vs. VBS will also air on M-Net’s DStv Channel 101 at 10 PM local time on Thursdays starting April 2.
