Pastor nabbed for Ponzi scheme

A Cape Town pastor who is a director of the Platinum Forex Group, an alleged Ponzi scheme, has been released on R100 000 bail.

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Johannesburg - The director of the Platinum Forex Group, an alleged Ponzi scheme, was released on R100 000 bail by the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, police said.

Directorate for Priority Crime investigation (Hawks) spokesperson Captain Lloyd Ramovha said Colin Davids, 48, was arrested earlier in the day on charges of contravening the 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.”

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.

Africa News Agency