June 23, (THEWILL)- Two South African brothers have disappeared with Bitcoin worth $3.6 billion from their cryptocurrency investment platform, Africrypt.
The brothers, named Ameer Cajee who acted as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Raees Cajee who acted as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), started a cryptocurrency company called “Africrypt” in Johannesburg, a supposed currency exchange service.
Africrypt provided all-around solutions, including investment opportunities on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology; brokerage services proffering an electronic, off-exchange digital liquidity solution; payment services providing secured digital payments across the domestic, offshore and international market; and full-suite consulting and advisory services for merchant banks and services for the digital world.
The first signs of trouble came in April, when Africrypt COO Ameer Cajee, issued a letter to investors on 13 April, stating the company, founded in 2019, had been forced to halt all operations after a “recent breach” in which clients’ wallets had been compromised.
“Unknown to us the extent of personal client information breached during the attack”, wrote Cajee at the time, adding that clients would be updated on any progress made in recovering the “stolen funds and compromised information”, he said.
However, shortly after the so-called breach, Africrypt directors ( the two brothers, Ameer Cajee and Raees) were alleged to have transferred the crypto investment’s pooled funds from its South African account(s) through bitcoin on the blockchain in April 2021.
Investors say after issuing the letter, Cajee and his older brother and CEO, Raees disappeared, leaving investors who took to messaging service Telegram to speculate where the two may be
Some sceptical investors contacted a law firm, Hanekom Attorneys while another group of investors started liquidation proceedings against Africrypt.
On 26 April, the Gauteng South High Court granted a provisional liquidation order against Africrypt Directors Ameer, 17, and Raees Cajee, 20, in favour of a group of about 20 investors. The Court also declared that the two brothers have until 19 July to argue against the liquidation.
Gerhard Botha, the attorney representing the group of investors under the company Badaspex, said he had not received any response from the two brothers to the provisional liquidation order.
Soth African newsmen say, when Raees’s cellphone was contacted , he did not answer calls. But on a WhatsApp message, wrote he could not talk as he was “not available today”. He suggested a time for a call a few days later and said his legal team would draft a written response. However, at the appointed time for the call, he did not answer his phone or return messages. No written response has since been received.
Daniel Opperman, who was listed as the company’s compliance officer, said he could not speculate on what had taken place or where the Cajees now were.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s leading financial institution FNB, has also denied allegations of a banking relationship with the collapsed crypto investment firm, Africrypt.
In his response to a media inquiry, FNB spokesperson Nadiah Maharaj refused to acknowledge the existence of any relationship between FNB and Africypt.
“FNB has once again confirmed that it has no trading relationship with Africrypt. Due to customer confidentiality, FNB is unable to provide any information about specific bank accounts”,Maharaj said.
However, media investigation revealed that after successfully siphoning off investors’ money, the Cajee brothers fled to the UK.
The findings were also corroborated by another investigation by Hanekom Attorneys, a law firm hired by victims of the Africrypt scam. In addition to these findings, the law firm’s investigations revealed that the directors of Africrypt used crypto mixers to obfuscate the cash flow.
While the incident has now been reported to the Hawks (South Africa’s elite police unit), the law firm’s founder, Darren Hanekom reports that Africrypt’s accounts with FNB have been “wiped” and ” investor’s entire funds” could have been directed to mixing services to destroy proof.
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