Desiree Liebenberg, the wife of Louis Petrus Liebenberg has been denied bail by the Bronkhorstspruit Magistrates Court on Thursday.
This was after the State argued that that she was a flight risk because she had access to at least R200 million that her husband claims to have hidden away from authorities.
The couple, together with their co-accused; Magdelena Petronella Kleynhans, Johannes Petrus Badenhorst, Helena Dorothea Amy Schulenburg, Adriaan Dewald Strydom, Christelle Badenhorst, Nicolize van Heerden and Walter Niendinger, are facing a myriad charges.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the accused face 42 counts of fraud (alternatively theft), five counts of racketeering, six counts of money laundering, theft and various statutory offences, including contraventions of the Companies Act.
Liebenberg and Desiree also face additional charges of money laundering.
"Desiree is facing an additional charge of corruption while Kleynhans is facing an additional charge of money laundering. More counts will be formulated and added at a later stage," said NPA spokesperson in Gauteng, Lumka Mahanjana.
The State alleges that Liebenberg registered 15 companies where his ex-girlfriend Kleynhans and the rest of the accused who are either family members or have close relations, were directors.
Mahanjana said in 2020, Liebenberg and Kleynhans registered a company styled Tariomix where they were both directors.
"Another company styled Forever Zircon was registered in 2021. Both these companies were purportedly involved in buying and selling diamonds. Potential investors were lured through social media and radio interviews to invest in the buying and selling of diamonds and were also promised high returns over a short period of time using a cashless platform called AE Switch. Thousands of investors made payments into the platform amounting to approximately R4.5 billion," she said.
The accused then allegedly used the proceeds from the scam to buy luxury vehicles and Kruger coins and pay for Liebenberg's lavish wedding and honeymoon in Greece.
“Various immovable properties, including an office block, were purchased,” said Mahanjana.
When some investors did not receive the promised payments, they became suspicious and reported the matter to the police suspecting that they were defrauded.
Mahanjana added that Desiree asked to be released on bail because she was not a flight risk and said she joined the companies at a later stage and her properties were being vandalised.
However, the State argued that she was a flight risk and she failed to disclose her bank statements claiming that she was unable access them because she was in custody.
Mahanjana added that the matter will resume on Monday, November 25 to allow Louis to apply for bail.
Meanwhile, the rest of the accused will appear on February 4, 2025.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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