Raees Cajee’s attempts to stave off the final liquidation of Africrypt, the crypto investment scheme which appears to have roped in R200m before allegedly being hacked in April, have run into some serious headwinds.

Raees is accused of attempting to hide behind a Hong Kong-based company called RaeCreateWealth (RCW) and another entity called RCWSA to escape liability from creditors, notes a Moneyweb report.

The Cajees fled SA apparently in fear for their lives after claiming their crypto accounts were hacked in April.

However, this is not the first time the Cajees’ crypto investment schemes have allegedly been hacked, casting further doubt on their version of events.

Juan Meyer, as a director of Badaspex, and in response to Raees Cajee, turns the spotlight on the apparently free-spending brothers, with bank statements attached to his affidavit show vehicle expenses of R892 406, clothing (including watches) of R685 997, residential rentals of R250 000, family travel expenses of R504 935, and sponsorships in the name of Africrypt of R115 000.

Meyer contends that the Cajees realised that ‘their scheme was no longer viable, and they had to start ‘creating’ grounds for its future non-performance.’

‘It is submitted that the real fear of Raees and Ameer (Cajee) is criminal prosecution in the event of them returning to SA,’ deposes Meyer.

He says Raees Cajee’s claim in his opposing affidavit that hackers using a Ukrainian IP address managed to penetrate several layers of security to make off with bitcoin belonging to Africrypt clients cannot be accepted by the court as he is not an expert.

‘The fact of the matter is that (Africrypt) has to date done nothing to recoup any losses suffered, notwithstanding its undertakings in its letter of 13 April 2021 to its investors.’

Badaspex had requested a refund of R3.175m, but an inspection of the FNB bank statements for RCWSA showed that no funds were available to settle this amount.

It was this repayment claim (by Badaspex) that in all probability triggered the collapse of the scheme operated by the Cajees, notes the Moneyweb report.

Badaspex was granted a provisional liquidation order against Africrypt in April, though Raees Cajee last month filed an affidavit opposing final liquidation.

Cajee claims that Africrypt itself never received any investments from Badaspex or any other investor.

In response, Meyer supplies bank statements and other evidence to show that he and other investors at all times believed they were dealing with Africrypt, and Cajee’s assertions to the contrary are merely attempts to avoid liability.

‘The defence advanced … to the effect that (Badaspex) did not contract with (Africrypt), is either (a) disingenuous afterthought, or, even worse, a premeditated strategy,’ deposes Meyer. ‘Either way, this defence is not supported by any evidence, it is exposed by the objective facts and (Africrypt’s) own conduct, and it falls to be rejected without further ado.’

Full Moneyweb report