Hawks pounce on forex scammers
Two suspects linked to the Plantinum Forex Trading Group (PFTG) appeared in the Bellvile Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in the Western Cape on Tuesday.
The two suspects are accused of defrauding investors of R330 million between July 2009 and July 2015.
"They allegedly took funds from investors and made investments on forex markets to generate profit though the entity while some funds were used for personal gain. The capital investment would at a later stage be paid with profit back to their clients," says the police's Philani Nkwalase.
He says some 2000 investors were affected by the alleged scam.
"The investors were offered unrealistic return on their funds, which was characterised by a typical Ponzi scheme where the investments of the lasted clients would be used to pay the dividends to older clients."
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He says both suspects are have been charged with contravening the Reserve Bank Act. 90 of 1980.
One of the suspects was granted R15 000 bail, while the other was granted R100 000 bail.
They are both expected to appear in court again on June 1.