ActionSA has noted the recent sanctioning of a former audit partner linked to the VBS Mutual Bank scandal, nearly eight years after one of South Africa’s most devastating corruption episodes unfolded, but said accountability was delayed.

ActionSA Member of Parliament Alan Beesley pointed out that while the imposition of a lifetime ban and financial penalties marked a long-overdue step toward accountability, it showed that delivery of justice in South Africa remained slow and inconsistent.

He explained that the VBS scandal was never only about corrupt politicians and municipal officials.

“…it was enabled by a broader network of professionals entrusted with safeguarding financial integrity, including auditors who failed in their duty and, in doing so, facilitated the looting of nearly R2-billion. The consequences were borne by some of the most vulnerable communities in our country.

“That meaningful consequences are only now materialising, years later, demonstrates that South Africa still lacks a corruption framework that guarantees swift and certain accountability — not only for those who steal public funds, but also for those who enable and conceal it,” he said.

Beesley maintains that professional sanctions alone are insufficient, demanding criminal prosecution for misconduct to break the culture of impunity for well-connected individuals.

The delayed accountability highlighted systemic failures in addressing corporate complicity, he said, and demanded faster, consistent justice across public and private sectors.

“This case also raises broader questions about transparency and accountability in how corporate complicity in State Capture-era scandals is resolved. South Africa cannot afford a system where accountability is delayed by years and applied unevenly across sectors. Corruption is a system of collusion that spans both public and private actors,” said Beesley.