EASTERN CAPE – The National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Eastern Cape Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) has secured a forfeiture order for funds linked to an alleged investment scam in which Lungi Bobbs lost approximately R1.7 million.

NPA spokesperson Luxolo Tyali confirmed that following the forfeiture proceedings, Bobbs had been fully reimbursed.

According to the NPA, Bobbs was contacted by an individual who presented himself as a senior financial adviser and investment account manager.

“The individual persuaded him to make an initial investment of approximately R4,000 in an opportunity purportedly linked to the London Stock Exchange. He was then instructed to download several applications, including AnyDesk, Binance and LSE, and to provide a pin.”

These applications and instructions are suspected to have enabled unauthorised access to his bank accounts.

Shortly afterwards, unauthorised transactions were made from his Standard Bank and Absa accounts.

“These included a payment of R69,000 from his Standard Bank account and several transfers totalling R1.6 million from his Absa account,” said Tyali.

He added that Bobbs was later told that his investment had generated substantial profits, but that he needed to verify his Absa account before the funds could be released.

This was allegedly part of the scheme used to deceive him and facilitate further unauthorised transactions.

“The matter was reported to police and referred to the Eastern Cape AFU. Working with SAPS, the AFU enlisted the assistance of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) to trace the funds.”

The investigation established that money from his accounts had been transferred to an account held by Billionaire Industries (Pty) Ltd and then to an account held by Papzeedo Trading (Pty) Ltd.

“The FIC’s financial analysis played a crucial role in tracing the funds and identifying the accounts through which they passed. A temporary hold was placed on the targeted account.”

According to Tyali, further investigations revealed similarities between this matter and several other reported cases involving alleged investment scams linked to Papzeedo Trading (Pty) Ltd in different parts of the country.

He added that in those cases, victims were reportedly enticed by investment opportunities and then persuaded to download remote-access applications.

“Substantial unauthorised withdrawals were subsequently made from their bank accounts associated with the same entities, indicating a recurring modus operandi. The forfeiture order disrupts the flow of suspected proceeds of crime and enables the recovery of funds for victims.”

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