So, the “investment” proposal is this:
Some years ago, the two Surtie brothers moved from India to Lesotho, where they amassed a giant fortune. They also did business in SA. When the last brother died he left behind a massive unclaimed fortune in SA. When the heirs eventually appeared, it seemed that the fortune was not as big as it was supposed to be. The allegation is that in the 1980s SARB converted more than R1trillion into bonds that the PIC then bought, thereby amounting to a covered up government bailout of a bank that would become part of Absa. This would only be discovered or alleged later, as the heirs needed to appoint a private forensic investigator, one Jeff Koorbonally, to “find the money”.
This is where the potential scam comes in. The forensic investigator, either directly or through others, then starts accepting “investments” from members of the public to finance his activities, promising incredible returns in terms of an agreement with the heirs. Like, amazing figures: give a thousand now, collect ten times that much when the money is found. Oh, and it’s cash only.
Meetings were held, where people became convinced of the legitimacy of this venture, and invested. Feedback meetings were held when deemed necessary by the deposit-takers.
A few years pass. The inheritance money is then allegedly traced to Absa. That is when things start heating up, with more and more meetings being held and more money being asked for to pay for the legal team that would allegedly negotiate with Absa’s board on the release of the money. And the promises got bigger. Suddenly R1000 got you R1million. The money flowed in.
At this stage the show starts being run by pastors having almost monthly “final feedback follow-up” meetings, and they are now promising that the time is near for final payout. There are just several final issues that they need to iron out with the board so they need money for plane fare to Joburg and accommodation there. So now you can “bless” someone by putting in even more money on behalf of other people. And that is what this thing has developed into, a religious faith-fest. Faith in the lord is regarded as evidenced by faith in this business, and the pastors portray it as a blessing to be used to do good in the community. I have been to one of the church meetings, and the building was packed.
Admittedly, I put in a few rands at the beginning, highly suspicious but it wasn’t much money. Others have put in far more. The one meeting that I attended convinced me that it was a scam. I don’t want any more people to lose hard-earned money, but I know that some people are banking on this payout happening and are willing to put in more money.
My Googling skills are limited, but the only references to the Surtie claim that I could find are related to this private forensic investigator Jeff Koorbanally, open letters written by him, and reproductions thereof.
In the comments section on this article, https://uncensoredopinion.co.za/koo...-toxic-family-feud-trillion-rand-inheritance/, he attempts to distance himself from the collecting of moneys by anybody, especially the pastors.
So I am at the point of approaching the police/Hawks to investigate this, which is what was advised by JK at the link above. I guess putting this narrative on paper helped in that process. What would help further is more information that I can bring to the police, greater evidence that it’s a scam, and more guidance from mybb.
Have any of you heard of this Surtie thing?
Does it sound as much like a scam to you as it does to me?
What should my further steps be?
Some years ago, the two Surtie brothers moved from India to Lesotho, where they amassed a giant fortune. They also did business in SA. When the last brother died he left behind a massive unclaimed fortune in SA. When the heirs eventually appeared, it seemed that the fortune was not as big as it was supposed to be. The allegation is that in the 1980s SARB converted more than R1trillion into bonds that the PIC then bought, thereby amounting to a covered up government bailout of a bank that would become part of Absa. This would only be discovered or alleged later, as the heirs needed to appoint a private forensic investigator, one Jeff Koorbonally, to “find the money”.
This is where the potential scam comes in. The forensic investigator, either directly or through others, then starts accepting “investments” from members of the public to finance his activities, promising incredible returns in terms of an agreement with the heirs. Like, amazing figures: give a thousand now, collect ten times that much when the money is found. Oh, and it’s cash only.
Meetings were held, where people became convinced of the legitimacy of this venture, and invested. Feedback meetings were held when deemed necessary by the deposit-takers.
A few years pass. The inheritance money is then allegedly traced to Absa. That is when things start heating up, with more and more meetings being held and more money being asked for to pay for the legal team that would allegedly negotiate with Absa’s board on the release of the money. And the promises got bigger. Suddenly R1000 got you R1million. The money flowed in.
At this stage the show starts being run by pastors having almost monthly “final feedback follow-up” meetings, and they are now promising that the time is near for final payout. There are just several final issues that they need to iron out with the board so they need money for plane fare to Joburg and accommodation there. So now you can “bless” someone by putting in even more money on behalf of other people. And that is what this thing has developed into, a religious faith-fest. Faith in the lord is regarded as evidenced by faith in this business, and the pastors portray it as a blessing to be used to do good in the community. I have been to one of the church meetings, and the building was packed.
Admittedly, I put in a few rands at the beginning, highly suspicious but it wasn’t much money. Others have put in far more. The one meeting that I attended convinced me that it was a scam. I don’t want any more people to lose hard-earned money, but I know that some people are banking on this payout happening and are willing to put in more money.
My Googling skills are limited, but the only references to the Surtie claim that I could find are related to this private forensic investigator Jeff Koorbanally, open letters written by him, and reproductions thereof.
In the comments section on this article, https://uncensoredopinion.co.za/koo...-toxic-family-feud-trillion-rand-inheritance/, he attempts to distance himself from the collecting of moneys by anybody, especially the pastors.
So I am at the point of approaching the police/Hawks to investigate this, which is what was advised by JK at the link above. I guess putting this narrative on paper helped in that process. What would help further is more information that I can bring to the police, greater evidence that it’s a scam, and more guidance from mybb.
Have any of you heard of this Surtie thing?
Does it sound as much like a scam to you as it does to me?
What should my further steps be?
written all over this story. Make contact with the FSB and they will advise you further.
