Louis Liebenberg and wife abandon bail, three co-accused get bail

Alleged diamond ponzi mastermind Louis Liebenberg and his wife abandoned their bail application at their first appearance in the Bronkhorstspruit magistrate's court on Thursday. 

Liebenberg, 60, his wife Desiree, 50, and seven other accused, Magdelena Petronella Kleynhans, 54, Johannes Petrus Badenhorst, 41, Helena Dorothea Amy Schulenburg, 59, Adriaan Dewald Strydom, 35, Christelle Badenhorst, 42, Nicolize van Heerden, 58, and Walter Niendinger, 55, made their first appearance in court. 

Three co-accused were released on bail, while the bail applications of the others will be heard next week. Though Liebeneberg and his wife chose not to apply for bail at their first appearance, they may apply for it at any other time, including next week when the case returns to court for the bail applications of the other accused.

Kleynhans and Schulenburg were released on bail of R20,000, while Niedinger's was set at R100,000, on the condition that they all surrendered their passports to the investigating officer.

The group was arrested during a multidisciplinary operation led by the Northern Cape Hawks’ serious organised crime unit between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning at various locations, on allegations the accused were involved in a diamond investment scam. 

According to NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, the group faces 42 counts of fraud — alternatively theft — five counts of racketeering, six counts of money laundering and various statutory offences, including contraventions of the Companies Act.

She said more counts will be formulated and added later.

It is alleged that Liebenberg registered 15 companies in which his ex-girlfriend, Kleynhans, and the rest of the accused who are either family members or have close relations, were directors.

“In 2020 Louis Liebenberg and Magdelena Petronella Kleynhans registered a company styled Tariomix in which they were both directors. Another company styled Forever Zircon was registered in 2021. Both companies were purportedly involved in buying and selling diamonds,” Mahanjana said.

“Potential investors were lured through social media and radio interviews to invest in the buying and selling of diamonds and were promised high returns over a short time using a cashless platform called AE Switch. Thousands of investors made payments to the platform amounting to about R4.5bn.”

The accused are alleged to have spent the diamond-based fortune on movable and immovable assets, including two mines, various motor vehicles, a Ford Bakkie, a BMW 230i sport, a Toyota Agya, a Krugerrand, and silver coins to pay for Liebenberg’s lavish wedding and honeymoon in Greece.

Various immovable properties, including an office block, were purchased.

“When some investors did not receive the promised payments, they became suspicious and reported the matter to the SAPS, suspecting that they were defrauded. The investigation is conducted by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, with the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU), Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) and the NPA’s Organised Crime Unit.

“The multi-agency approach to the prosecutor-guided investigations yielded the important breakthrough in this syndicated commercial crime,” Mahanjana said.

The matter has been remanded to October 31 for a formal bail application in respect of the other accused.

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