BHI kingpins remanded in custody
The Hawks have detained Global and Local financial adviser Michael Adam Haldane and Rubicon Trust director Sona Pillay – who had attempted to flee the country – in connection with their alleged role in the R2.8bn BHI Trust Ponzi scheme.
Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale yesterday said an investigation by the police’s Serious Commercial Crimes unit had led to the arrest of Pillay (54) at OR Tambo International Airport on Friday.
He and 55-year-old Haldane are ‘implicated in the BHI Ponzi Scheme case’.
The Mail & Guardian reports that BHI Trust co-trustee Craig Warriner was last week sentenced to 25 years imprisonment after pleading guilty to 206 counts of fraud and one of contravening the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act for operating an investment scheme without a licence or being registered as a financial services provider.
His co-trustee Christian Ashcroft opened a case against Warriner after he lost money in the scheme and investors started asking questions.
More than 200 people, many of them pensioners, lost about R1.6bn in the scheme which Warriner told the court he had ‘managed irresponsibly’ using investors’ funds to pay out fake returns.
Mogale said Pillay was arrested on Friday ‘after he attempted to flee overseas' where he was refused entry and sent back to SA where he found the Hawks’ investigating team waiting for him at OR Tambo. He added that Haldane handed himself in yesterday.
Both suspects appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sitting in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court where the matter was postponed to 10 June for a formal bail application.
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.
