Company director arrested in alleged R1.3 million mining rights scam
A 49-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with an alleged mining rights scam in the Northern Cape.
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A WOMAN accused of orchestrating a sophisticated mining rights scam that cost a buyer over R1.3 million is now in police custody, following her arrest by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team in the Northern Cape.
Hawks Northern Cape spokesperson Warrant Officer Nomthandazo Mnisi said the 49-year-old suspect, who served as a co-director of Rowen Tree 60 Pty Ltd, was taken into custody this week on charges of fraud, with theft listed as an alternative charge.
Her arrest comes more than a decade after the wheels were allegedly set in motion for a web of deception involving prospecting mining rights.
“It is alleged that in 2012, the suspect was a co-director of a company named Rowen Tree 60 Pty Ltd with two other directors. The suspect allegedly withdrew an application for renewal of prospecting mining rights, which was in the process at the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE),” said Mnisi.
Three years later, in 2015, the company resolved to sell the rights and the business itself to a known Northern Cape businessman for R100,000.
“After the conclusion of the sale agreement, but before the businessman could make payment, she sold the company to the complainant and withheld the letter withdrawing the prospecting mining right, thereby misleading the complainant as though the prospecting mining right was valid and in good standing,” said Mnisi.
“Consequently, the complainant accepted the offer and paid an amount of R1,368,000. After the complainant paid the amount of R1,368,000 to the seller of the rights, an amount of R100,000 was then paid into a personal account belonging to one of the directors of Rowen Tree 60 Pty Ltd.”
Authorities believe this series of allegedly fraudulent transactions caused the complainant to suffer a substantial financial loss of R1,368,000.
Mnisi indicated that further arrests may follow as the probe deepens.
The suspect was expected to appear before the Douglas Magistrate’s Court on June 19.