This week our story took place in Bryanston, Johannesburg. There has been warnings from local cyber security experts that there is a rise of online scams in South Africa and globally.
Six alleged suspects were arrested for being investment scammers along with 25 call centre agents for contravening the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act. The suspects were aged between 38 and 61.
The investigation in South Africa was triggered by statements provided by 43 victims from Australia. The Hawks, in collaboration with Interpol and international law-enforcement partners to arrange a coordinated operation. It is alleged that the bogus investment scammers would advertise investment opportunities via various social media platforms. They targeted victims who were close to retirement age, and in possession of great savings who are seeking growth and ways to preserve their funds.
According to the South African Police Services, they operated fraud “boiler-room” call centres. They took on call centre agents who would communicate with victims online. The victims in Australia were initially persuaded to make small online investments, which they were promised would reflect high returns.
In a case similar to this one, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) arrested 5 alleged suspects and four companies that were in connection with an alleged multi-million-rand fraud, theft and money-laundering scheme. This particular fraud scheme spanned the Eastern and Western Cape.
SAPS notes that the arrest in Bryanston stem from an investigation that was initiated in 2022 by the Gauteng Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team. According to hawks, the investigation was centred on Pro Khaya, a construction company based in Gqeberha, which at the time planned to expand its operations to Cape Town between 2015 and 2018. Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Avele Fumba said the company (Pro Khaya) employed one of the accused. The accused was a qualified quantity surveyor who was employed as a branch manager in Cape Town.
“The accused allegedly abused his position by establishing his own private company that offered the same services as the parent company,” Fumba said. According to investigators it is alleged that the alleged suspect worked with subcontractors who partnered with him to produce fraudulent paperwork.
Fumba said, “the accused strategically identified sub-contractors who colluded with him to facilitate fictitious invoices for payments to be paid by the parent company,” The Hawks have further alleged that the subcontractors would then send the money back to alleged suspect’s private company.
The estimated financial loss to Pro Khaya is about R12 million.
DISCLAIMER! This content is for educational and informational purposes based on publicly available information.
Sources: ITWeb.co.za and IOL.co.za