Twenty-three members of an alleged international scam syndicate appeared before the Johannesburg specialised commercial crimes court on Wednesday, facing charges of contravention of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (Fais) Act. They were arrested on Tuesday in various areas of Gauteng, including Bryanston, Randburg and Centurion during a multi-agency operation led by Hawks. The 23 people, together with 15 entities, allegedly operated call centres that provided financial services despite not being registered as financial advisers or as representatives of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.
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. The state alleges that more than 40 unsuspecting victims from abroad, including the US, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, were scammed into investing more than R1bn in what they believed to be legitimate investment opportunities. NPA spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said some of these funds were allegedly used to sustain the operations of the call centres. The case was postponed to February 4 for the bail applications.
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