A forex trader in the Free State had a preservation order granted against him in the Ladybrand Magistrate’s Court.
Moeketsi Ntshasa, 28, is accused of swindling investors out of R21 million.
The provincial spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as Hawks), Lieutenant Colonel Zweli Mohobeleli said Ntshasa had victims invest in a company called Integrated Investment.
By order of the court, a house valued at R2.9 million has been preserved.
“An in-depth analysis of the movement of monies deposited by victims who had invested through forex trading, pointed to a newly bought house in Ladybrand. Known victims, who are based in different towns around South Africa, invested about R21 million,” Mohobeleli said.
Ntshasa’s girlfriend, Phetogo Molosi, 26, has also been implicated in the matter, and alongside her boyfriend, the duo faces an array of charges which include fraud, theft, and money laundering.
The couple has appeared in court several times.
Free State head of the Hawks, Major General Mokgadi Bokaba said the cooperation between the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Hawks' Priority Crime Specialised Investigation (PCSI) is becoming stronger by the day.
Ntshasa and Molosi are expected back in the Ladybrand Magistrate’s Court on July 15.
In a separate incident, the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court sentenced a traffic officer on corruption charges on Monday, April 15.
Tshiya Desmond Pule, 43, was convicted on two counts of corruption.
Pule was investigated and arrested by members of the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team based in Bloemfontein.
He extorted R2,000 from motorists to make their traffic violations go away.
Pule was sentenced to five years imprisonment for each count of corruption against him. The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently. This results in Pule serving an effective five years in prison.