Instead of a sports development, the funds have reportedly been sent to multiple countries via crypto platforms. Picture: Shutterstock Police are on the hunt for East Rand vape shop owner Muhammed Karolia, who disappeared after Moneyweb first reported on the case of the missing R44.7 million that was intended for padel court development east of Joburg. Karolia’s former business partner, Mohammed Ebrahim, suspected something was amiss when eight months after paying the money over to Karolia, there were no signs of any padel courts.
The Johannesburg High Court ordered the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) to put a freeze on all bank accounts controlled by Karolia. FNB and Absa were likewise ordered to freeze his bank accounts and provide eight months of bank statements. Those bank statements appear to confirm Ebrahim’s suspicions – millions of rands were flowing out of Karolia’s accounts to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, US, Thailand and Netherlands.
The number of transactions to accounts abroad has raised concerns that Karolia had no intentions of developing padel courts, as he had promised. Instead, he appears to have been living large on his former business partner’s dime. After discussions with the Sarb, Ebrahim is now returning to court for an order to compel more than 60 licensed forex dealers and banks to freeze all Karolia’s accounts.
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Ebrahim has cited numerous other respondents, including Karolia’s mother and close business associates who are believed to have been recipients of some of the funds. Colonel Naidoo of the Specialised Commercial Crime Unit confirmed to Moneyweb that the case is under investigation after a fraud complaint was filed against Karolia by his former business partner. Police believe Karolia travelled to the UAE after the court order compelling the Sarb to freeze his accounts was granted on 30 October 2025.
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