Mayor linked to funeral insurance scam
Johannesburg’s executive mayor Kabelo Gwamanda operated an illegal business, posing as a financial services provider without the required licence, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has noted.
It is alleged that in 2012, Gwamanda, through his funeral insurance and burial scheme entity iThemba Lama Afrika, scammed Soweto residents into investing and making contributions every month.
However, they were left high and dry when it was time to claim.
The Sunday Times reports that Gwamanda was not registered with the FSCA, as operators of such schemes are required to be.
The FSCA says that if an individual has been found to be dishonest and lacking integrity in the course of rendering financial services, they may be disbarred and prohibited from doing such work in the future.
Gwamanda revealed that his burial scheme business ‘worked closely’ with ward councillors in the area.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
