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Man arrested for allegedly making off with R3m in pyramid scheme

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A 33-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a R3 million investment fraud case.
A 33-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a R3 million investment fraud case.
Tiro Ramatlhatse, Gallo Images, Sowetan
  • A 33-year-old man has been arrested in a R3 million investment fraud case.
  • The pyramid scheme ran in Kuruman between October 2019 and July 2020.
  • Police spent several months searching for the man, who was found in KwaZulu-Natal.

A 33-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a R3 million investment fraud case in the Northern Cape.

The Hawks arrested Andile Blessing Mkhize for investment fraud after he was traced to Molweni in KwaZulu-Natal on Friday.

In March, the Hawks issued a request for help in tracking down Mkhize, offering the public a R50 000 reward for information on his whereabouts.

"It is alleged that the suspect is one of three people who were running a bogus investment company [pyramid scheme] by the name of Value FX Made Easy between October 2019 and July 2020 in Kuruman," said police spokesperson Captain Tebogo Thebe.

"Community members invested their money with the company, and some were paid half of their returns while some were not paid at all. Thereafter the company operators vanished with the community's investments, estimated to be around R3 million."

Two more people, Siphephelo Zondi and Tshepo Mabaso, were previously arrested by Northern Cape police.

Zondi was denied bail while Mabaso was granted R5 000 bail.

During Mkhize's arrest, police seized two of his vehicles valued at around R360 000.

Mkhize joined his counterparts in the Kuruman Magistrate's Court on Monday and his case was postponed to Friday for a bail application.



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