Collapsed South African bank’s home base up for sale
The headquarters of the collapsed South African bank, VBS Mutual Bank, will be officially going under the hammer this month, with the auctioneers hoping to recover as much as it can for creditors.
The 22,826-square-metre office campus at 82 Wessels Road in Rivonia will be auctioned through Auction Inc. on 24 February.
The sale will mark a significant step in the protracted recovery of funds looted from the bank and its municipal depositors, which amounted to over R2 billion.
VBS Bank became a symbol of corruption when it collapsed in 2018, where it was exposed as the epicentre of a massive fraud.
A forensic investigation by the South African Reserve Bank, led by Advocate Terry Motau SC, found the bank “corrupt and rotten to the core,” with over R2 billion siphoned off through schemes involving executives and politicians.
The bank was placed under final liquidation by the North Gauteng High Court in November 2018. The process of recovering assets for creditors has been ongoing for over six years.
The auction house said that the sale of the asset is an outcome of the liquidation process, with the proceeds contributing to the recovery of losses suffered by the bank’s creditors.
It added that South Africa’s auction industry has become a critical mechanism for liquidators and state agencies, such as the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), to recover assets acquired through the looting of public funds.
It added that recovery amounts linked to state capture cases alone had reached R11 billion by March 2025.
Details about the VBS property
According to Ari Ben, CEO of Auction Inc., despite the scandal surrounding its former occupants, the headquarters are prime property.
“The VBS property is one of the most desirable Rivonia sites to ever go under the hammer,” he said.
Not only is the campus strategically located with immediate access to the N1 highway, but the B-grade office space also has significant conversion potential, particularly for residential use.
“The Metropolitan Office Park’s versatile layout and favourable zoning create an opportunity for conversion into high-demand residential apartments or sectional-title residential complexes,” he said.
“Its existing Business 4 zoning and well-maintained infrastructure provide a significant cost and logistical advantage for any large-scale residential conversion.”
The property has a combined gross lettable area of approximately 13,123 square metres across eight individual blocks.
It has a projected gross annual income of R15.74 million when fully let.
The VBS property is just one of 20 lots going under the hammer on 24 February 2026, which will include luxury residential property and many other commercial and industrial assets.
Pictures of the campus
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