A botched investment deal has left South African rugby players nursing multi-million-rand losses and asking serious questions.
The world of professional rugby has been rocked by a failed investment scheme that’s left several South African players millions out of pocket, and two prominent figures in the sport scrambling to explain their roles in the debacle.
Former Springbok scrumhalf Johan Roux and rugby agent Anthony Johnson now find themselves at the centre of a storm after a 2021 investment deal, to purchase French club AS Béziers Hérault, spectacularly imploded.
The deal that never was
The proposed takeover, which was meant to secure players’ financial futures whilst bringing a historic French club under South African influence, never got off the ground. According to an IOL investigation, what was sold as a shrewd investment has instead become what one anonymous former Sharks player calls a “f**king sh*tshow”.
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That player, who understandably wants to keep his identity under wraps, stumped up R2.2 million for the project after being promised not only his investment back, but an additional R1.5 million in interest. Five years on, he hasn’t seen a single rand.
How the money moved
According to IOL, Johnson set up a Zoom meeting where both he and Roux pitched the investment opportunity.
“Anthony set up the Zoom meeting and Johan joined after,” the player explained. “Anthony asked me to pay the money, and Johan was behind it.”
The funds didn’t go into a corporate account or investment vehicle , instead, they landed in a personal bank account in Poland belonging to Antonino Pane, an Italian who claims to be CEO of Eurokredit Merchant Bank.
Legal fallout
The frustrated investor hasn’t taken the loss lying down. He’s opened a criminal complaint with Polish authorities in a bid to recover his money.
“And because after five years I have received no money, my lawyers assisted me in opening a criminal complaint with police in Poland,” he confirmed.
The defence
Both Roux and Johnson maintain they’re victims rather than villains in this saga. They claim to have invested their own money and assert they’re in the same boat as the other investors.
“I’m personally invested in this thing and I’m in the same position as the other guys,” Johnson told IOL.
Roux attempted to explain the financial structure, arguing the players’ money was meant to serve as collateral for a much larger loan that would ultimately fund the Béziers purchase.
“To access loans, you need collateral, right?” Roux said. “So this money went to activate the collateral so we can get the loan.”
