Ameer and Raees Cajee, the brothers behind Cape Town-based crypto investment platform Africrypt, have disappeared under suspicious circumstances, together with 69,000 Bitcoins belonging to their clients.
The Promise of Exceptional Returns and Where Things Started Going Wrong
The company was founded in 2013 and over the years had managed to secure a lot of support from investors, including some prominent local celebrities. Ostensibly, it was a well-run business that continued to grow on the back of “sophisticated algorithmic trading” that promised returns of 10% per day.
Things took a strange turn in April when investors were sent an email alleging a hack. The email noted that the platform would be shut down and investors’ accounts, wallets and nodes frozen. Most surprisingly, investors were requested not to contact law enforcement authorities as this would “slow the recovery process”.
Investors Appoint Investigators as Suspicion Grows
Shortly thereafter investors hired specialist legal practice Hanekom Attorneys who established that the company had moved 69,000 Bitcoins from their clients’ wallets through a crypto tumbler, making them virtually untraceable. Investigators also found that Africrypt employees had lost access to the back-end platforms seven days before the alleged hack.
We were immediately suspicious as the announcement implored investors not to take legal action.
Derek Hanekom, Hanekom Attorneys
Hanekom indicated it was unlikely that all funds came from South Africans, saying it looked more like an international money laundering operation. The South African Police has been assigned to the case and has contacted exchanges to ensure the funds aren’t liquidated. It is alleged that the Cajee brothers have since decamped to the UK, but that remains unclear.
Investors Cautioned: Do Your Own Research
The crypto space remains a very new market that is highly volatile and experimental, and investors are advised to always DYOR (do your own research).
Some recent scams we have seen:
Despite the discernible scams occurring, crypto remains an exciting prospect for the African continent with projects like Cardano developing blockchain solutions for decentralised identity and financial systems.
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