The Assets Forfeiture Unit is on Wednesday expected to apply for an order in the Western Cape High Court to seize the assets of a Parow pastor who is believed to be at the centre of a massive pyramid scheme.
Colin Davids allegedly operated an illegal Ponzi scheme promising people high returns on investments.
On June 22, the Bellville Magistrate’s Court released Davids, the director of the Platinum Forex Group, an alleged Ponzi scheme, on R100,000 bail.
At the time, the Directorate for Priority Crime investigation (Hawks) spokesperson Captain Lloyd Ramovha said 48-year-old Davids, was arrested on June 22, on charges of contravening the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act and the Banks Act.
“Davids, a pastor at New Direction Grace Ministries in Parow, Cape Town, was allegedly running a Ponzi scheme whose investors were mainly government employees who had retired or resigned from the service,†Ramovha said at the time.
In July 2015, Platinum Forex Group’s R100 million worth of assets were frozen on the order of the Western Cape High Court following the National Director of Public Prosecutions’s application for a Preservation Order in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, Ramovha added.
Davids’ case has been postponed to 18 January 2017 to allow for further investigations.
The Hawks have urged members of the public who have been victims of the Platinum Forex Group to come forward and make contact with the Investigating Officer, Lieutenant Colonel J Hardenberg on (021) 918 3354 or email HardenbergJ@saps.gov.za.
– African News Agency (ANA)
