O, Tannenbaum.
Jun. 14th, 2009 11:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mahnmutS.African expat denies $1.2 bln 'Ponzi' scheme
An expatriate South African businessman accused of running a massive pyramid scheme that cost wealthy investors up to 1.2 billion US dollars has denied any wrongdoing, reports said Saturday.
It's South Africa's biggest financial scam in history. It was not an investment plan for the faint-hearted. With promises of exorbitant returns, some of the country's top businessmen, lawyers, accountants and property developers ploughed millions into the scheme that has now crashed, leaving them out of pocket and hugely embarrassed.
Many have opted not to come forward as victims of the scam, but of those who have, some have suffered losses of up to R100-million each.
Now labelled South Africa's biggest pyramid scheme ever, it is estimated that around 400 wealthy local investors fell victim. It is unclear at this stage how many foreign investors, including from Canada, the US and Australia, are affected.
An expatriate South African businessman accused of running a massive pyramid scheme that cost wealthy investors up to 1.2 billion US dollars has denied any wrongdoing, reports said Saturday.
Barry Tannenbaum, who lives in Sydney, has been accused of fleecing rich South Africans in what has been billed as one of the country's biggest Ponzi-style investment scandals, according to local and South African media.
But Tannenbaum had denied running a scam in which he allegedly offered 200 percent annual returns for people investing in his pharmaceutical import businesses, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
It's South Africa's biggest financial scam in history. It was not an investment plan for the faint-hearted. With promises of exorbitant returns, some of the country's top businessmen, lawyers, accountants and property developers ploughed millions into the scheme that has now crashed, leaving them out of pocket and hugely embarrassed.
Many have opted not to come forward as victims of the scam, but of those who have, some have suffered losses of up to R100-million each.
Now labelled South Africa's biggest pyramid scheme ever, it is estimated that around 400 wealthy local investors fell victim. It is unclear at this stage how many foreign investors, including from Canada, the US and Australia, are affected.
