A KZN father, mother and daughter allegedly linked to a controversial multimillion-rand ‘pyramid scheme’ have been arrested by the Hawks, reports TimesLIVE.

Malcolm de Beer, his wife Patricia and their daughter Samantha appeared in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

The trio are facing charges of fraud, with an alternative charge of theft, for the amount of about R73.6m.

KZN NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the arrests were the results of the combined efforts of the provincial NPA and the Hawks.

Ramkisson-Kara said the De Beers are also charged with contravention of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services act, the Banks Act and money laundering.

‘Coin-It placed advertisements on its website and in newspapers calling for people to invest with them. As a result of the advertisements, several people deposited funds into Coin-It bank accounts. In terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act and the Banks Act, Coin-It was not authorised to accept deposits from investors,’ said Ramkisson-Kara.

She said the state alleges the entity was not registered as a financial services provider and contravened legislation by not having the prescribed licence.

Ramkisson-Kara said the trio were released on bail of R50 000 each.

She said the couple surrendered their passports and were advised to contact the investigating officer should they wish to travel.

Ramkisson-Kara said the matter was postponed to 19 March and the case will be transferred to the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Durban.

Full TimesLIVE report