A multi-agency task team, led by the Hawks, raids one of seven locations of a cybercrime syndicate yesterday in Bryanston. The call centre targets English-speaking countries. Picture: Michel Bega Twenty-three members of an alleged international scam syndicate who swindled international victims more than R1 billion will remain behind bars until their next court appearance.
The members of the alleged international scam syndicate appeared before the Johannesburg Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday. They are facing charges of contravention of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act (FAIS Act). The suspects were arrested on 27 January 2026, in various areas of Gauteng, including Bryanston, Randburg, and Centurion, during a multi-agency operation led by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI).
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the arrests followed prosecutorially guided investigations involving the Hawks, crime intelligence, the Financial Intelligence Centre, the UK’s National Crime Agency, the US Department of Homeland Security Service, Australian investigation firms IFW and CyberTrace and South Africa’s private investigation company IRS. They are accused of operating call centres that provided financial services despite not being registered as financial advisers or representatives of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority. The State alleges that more than 40 unsuspecting victims from abroad, including the United States of America, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, were scammed into investing more than R1 billion in what they believed to be legitimate investment opportunities.
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What unfolded on the ground wasthe final act of an exceptionally complex, largely unseen processthat investigators describe as one of the most demanding cybercrime probes they have worked on. It was one of the largest take-downs of its kind in the world. The seven locations raided simultaneously included a major call centre operation and the homes of senior members of the syndicate.
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