Claims against the BHI Trust have topped R1.64bn and the figure is growing as court-appointed trustees try to unravel what police believe was an elaborate Ponzi scheme run by Craig Warriner, a St Stithians College old boy who worked his former school network with stunning effect, reports The Citizen.

When investigators looked into BHI’s main Nedbank account, all they could find was R4.8m.

Warriner handed himself over to police in October last year, admitting to police he had ‘used the funds of Peter to pay Paul’ after getting smashed in the 2008 financial market meltdown.

He remains in Johannesburg’s ‘Sun City’ prison awaiting a bail hearing on 24 April.

He was previously refused bail in a December 2023 hearing at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court. Warriner previously admitted to authorities that he had defrauded roughly 220 people of R1.18bn.

The latest figure from the court-appointed trustees is much bigger than that – R1.64bn from 823 investors, and the figure is growing.

‘These claims still need to be investigated by the trustees when the claims have been proven or admitted in terms of the relevant sections in the Insolvency Act,’ says Gert de Wet, one of the court-appointed trustees.

‘Other claims are being received sporadically. The trustees are in the process of compiling letters of demand to various individuals and entities for payment to the BHI Trust estate.’ 

The 823 claims received by the trustees so far have been withdrawn as creditors may be required to make contributions in the future, according to minutes of the first creditors’ meeting on 10 April.

Warriner’s estate was finally sequestrated last month.

One of the key sources of funds into BHI was investment advisory firm Global & Local, which reportedly received 5% commissions for directing funds to BHI.

In November last year, Investec terminated its relationship with Global & Local and gave it 90 days to close all corporate cash manager accounts with the bank.

De Wet says the trustees are still investigating the flow of funds into BHI.

‘A section 69 search and seizure warrant (under the Insolvency Act) was executed on 20 March at the offices of Global & Local, and the information seized is currently under discussion between the legal teams.’

De Wet also told Moneyweb that several more financial advisors will be subpoenaed to give testimony over their involvement in BHI.

Forensic investigator Bart Henderson believes the reported losses of R1.64bn by BHI clients may be a low-ball figure, and questions how much money is going unreported in the BHI scandal, and what has happened to the money.

BHI funds appear to have found their way to a web of local and offshore companies, allowing the deception to continue for years after regulators were first alerted to possible irregularities, reports The Citizen.

Full report in The Citizen