Michael Haldane, 55, (pictured) was arrested, along with co-accused Sona Pillay, 54, on charges of fraud and money laundering in connection with the Ponzi scheme in June. (File photo)
Investors who were financially devastated by the BHI Trust Ponzi scheme face renewed uncertainty, with police telling some that their cases against former Global & Local director Michael Haldane, who has been charged with fraud and money laundering, have been closed.
Haldane, 55, who allegedly marketed the scheme to investors was arrested, along with co-accused Sona Pillay, 54, in connection with the Ponzi scheme in June. This came after BHI Trust trustee, Craig Warriner, 60, was convicted of fraud and sentenced in May to an effective 25 years in prison for his role in the scheme.
Haldane and Pillay were granted bail of R100 000 each in the Palm Ridge magistrate’s court.
Warriner had pleaded guilty to 206 counts of fraud and one of contravening the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act for operating an investment scheme without a licence or being registered as a financial services provider.
His co-trustee, Christian Ashcroft, opened a case against Warriner after he lost money in the scheme and investors started asking questions. The scheme collapsed in October 2023.
Haldane and Pillay were debarred for 30 years by the Financial Services Conduct Authority (FSCA), along with Global & Local associate Mauro Forlin, on 3 October 2024.
About 200 people, many of them pensioners, lost their life savings, an estimated R1.6 billion in total in the scheme, which Warriner told the court he had “managed irresponsibly” using investors’ funds to pay out fake returns.
But now, investors have raised concern about whether all their cases have in fact been joined to the main case related to the charges under which Haldane and Sona were arrested as police notified some of them that their cases against Haldane had been closed after Warriner’s arrest and conviction.
An investor, who asked to remain anonymous, said the police had advised her and her husband that the case they had opened at Sandringham police station regarding the scheme, which was later transferred to Norwood police station, had been closed as “they have their man”.
“They said that they had their guy, Craig Warriner, and could not pursue anything further with Global & Local. They said it was closed and would be sent to the Hawks with many other cases. They were not interested in pursuing this further at all at the time,” she said.
She added that the case being investigated against Haldane should have been postponed until the prosecutor “maybe had time to meet with the prosecutor who did Warriner’s case, to gain insight and view the evidence properly in Warriner’s case, as it all relates to Global & Local and Haldane and their role in the BHI”.
A second investor, whose daughter also sunk savings into the scheme and opened a joint case at the Linden police station, sent the M&G an SMS she received from the police station.
It read: “Message from SAPS. Investigation in LINDEN ref nr CAS 112/1/2024 — closed as false — yielded to no crime committed.”
“We’ve actually given up hope on getting anything,” she said.
“We do not have the emotional or financial mettle to fight back. We’re over 70 and we hoped that this investment would be a nest egg for medical emergencies or frail care. We hoped that our only recourse, the government and a police case, would assist us. Unfortunately, they’ve failed us,” she said.
A third investor said she had tried to open a case at Parkview police station, without success.
“I have been unable so far to open a criminal case against Haldane at my local SAPS Parkview. They just don’t seem to be able to understand the complexity of the matter,” she said.
Forensic investigator Bart Henderson, who has been assisting victims with their cases, said he wrote to the Sandton police station commander in November 2023 after he initially struggled to open a case.
In the letter, he noted that he had gathered evidence regarding the case and that there were several people, including Haldane and Sona, who needed to be investigated.
But Henderson said the police had not yet contacted him to conduct an interview nor had they requested that he assist them with the evidence he told them he has on file regarding the victims.
Investors’ concerns were exacerbated by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson for Gauteng Phindi Mjonondwane’s recent comments to the M&G in response to questions regarding why Haldane’s bail conditions had been relaxed in October to allow him to travel to visit his sick mother-in-law in Japan.
Mjonondwane, apart from saying that the NPA had not opposed his application to travel and that there was “no evidence at our disposal … suggesting that he could be a flight risk” added that the investors had not filed affidavits regarding the criminal case.
“We can confirm that we received complaints from some of the investors, who have not submitted any affidavits in the criminal case indicating the exact nature of the accused fraudulent conduct, nor have we received any supporting documents to this effect,” Mjonondwane said at the time.
Last week, the M&G sent a list of 10 case numbers that have been opened at police stations including Rosebank, Linden, Sandringham, Plettenberg Bay, Bedfordview, Sandton, George and Benoni, to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) and the NPA, asking whether these had been joined to the case under which Haldane is currently in court, and whether some of the cases have, in fact, been closed.
Neither the NPA nor the Hawks responded to specific questions regarding the cases and the status of the investigations.
“The BHI Trust matter is being investigated by Serious Commercial Crime Investigation in Johannesburg. The matter will appear before court on 25 March 2025,” Hawks spokesperson Katlego Mogale said.
Mjonondwane said most of the questions “relate to investigation processes, which is a competency of SAPS and the Hawks”.
“We cannot comment on the action or decisions of the South African police detectives at the various other stations. The investigation in Sandton, Case 313/05/24 [the case Haldane is facing in court], is still pending and anything outstanding cannot be divulged to the public at this stage,” Mjonondwane said.
“We can confirm that we are in possession of both dockets and considering the evidence in totality. The SAPS are in a better position to disclose their reasons for closing the aforementioned dockets but, if any witnesses would prefer to lodge affidavits in this matter, they can contact Captain [Ernest] Khangale, the investigating officer.”
The FSCA withdrew Global & Local’s financial services provider licence after its investigation found that the trio had conducted financial services with the unlicensed BHI Trust in contravention of the law.