The high court in Pretoria has granted the National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) a final forfeiture order for more than R4m linked to a company connected to Desiree Liebenberg, wife of alleged diamond Ponzi mastermind Louis Liebenberg.
ZencoCare formed part of the Forever Diamonds and Gold group of companies whose sole director is Desiree.
Liebenberg, 50, and her co-accused are facing charges of fraud, racketeering, money laundering, theft and contravening the Companies Act. It is alleged that Louis registered 15 companies in which his ex-girlfriend Magdelena Petronella Kleynhans and the rest of the accused, who are either family members or have close relations, were directors.
NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said in 2020 and 2021 Louis Liebenberg and co-accused Kleynhans registered two companies that were purportedly involved in buying and selling diamonds.
Potential investors were lured through social media and radio interviews to invest in the buying and selling of diamonds and were also promised high returns in a short time using a cashless platform called AE Switch. Thousands of investors made payments into the platform, totalling about R4.5bn. Investigations revealed that no such diamond parcels existed.
Instead, investor funds were misappropriated and used to pay earlier investors, in a manner typical of an unlawful multiplication (Ponzi-type) scheme.
“In 2024, ZencoCare transferred R5m to attorneys. Of this, R1m was paid to Eskom for mining-related activities, while the remaining R4m was preserved. That amount, together with accrued interest, has now been forfeited to the state,” Mahanjana said.
She said the funds had originally been earmarked for the purchase of West Coast Resources (Pty) Ltd, a diamond mining company in the Northern Cape.
She said the forfeited funds will be paid into the Criminal Assets Recovery Account, ensuring that proceeds of crime are redirected to the state to strengthen the fight against organised crime and corruption.
Louis and Desiree Liebenberg remain in custody, while the co-accused are now out on bail.
