State opposes bail in black dollar scam
The State deemed the accused to be a flight risk, and opposed their bail
The two foreign nationals accused of operating the so-called ‘black dollar scam’ in Mbombela will know the outcome of their bail application tomorrow, November 14.
The State opposed bail for Bosco Owino (45) and Robert Ssebataazi (48), who claim to be Ugandan nationals, in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court this morning.
Together they face financial crimes charges, including fraud, tax fraud and tampering with bank notes.
Speaking to Lowvelder, the investigating officer, Captain Dietlof Meyer, summarised the State’s argument. He said the accused should not be released on bail because they did not have a fixed address but were merely rental tenants. In addition, they did not have family in South Africa, were not well known in the country and were a flight risk. He explained the Department of Home Affairs issued 212 statements confirming Owino and Ssebataazi were illegal immigrants and were not asylum seekers.
He said because the accused lived on the same property as the complainant, their landlord, and some of the witnesses, they might intimidate witnesses.
Arguing in favour of bail, the defence said even illegal immigrants have the right to bail. However, Meyer said the accused would likely not be able to meet bail conditions such as not interfering with witnesses (because they shared the same address) and providing the investigating officer with identification documents, as they apparently do not have any legitimate documentation.
Owino and Ssebataazi were arrested at a notorious De Kock Street residence in the early hours of Friday morning. This after a Hawks-led search-and-seizure operation set in motion by a tip-off from a local security company, Divergent Ops.
During the operation, the police found a substantial bundle of black and white paper money, three bottles of chemicals and a steel safe.
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A Mpumalanga Hawks spokesperson, Warrant Officer Thandi Tshabalala, said on Friday that the accused had allegedly convinced their landlord to hand over his inheritance money as soon as he received it so that they can multiply it for him. The landlord was also allegedly persuaded to assist in purchasing chemicals to remove dye stains from cash notes, with the promise of a share.
The scam is understood to involve the handing over of large amounts of cash to the scammers with the promise of a miraculous multiplication of the money. When the promised bags of money are delivered, they find only the top layer would be cash; the rest would be fake paper money notes, black and white in colour – there’d be no properly ‘duplicated money’ and certainly little to nothing of the original investment of real money.
The Hawks’ provincial head, Major General Nicholas Gerber, applauded the team and the investigating officer who pursued a way for the docket to be placed on the court roll. He further warned members of the public not to hand over money to people and not to fall for ‘ridiculous scams’. He said those people were unscrupulous and would stop at nothing to get their hands on someone else’s money.
“There is no chemical or process in the world that can double your money,” he warned.
The police are urging anyone who have been a victim of the black dollar scam to come forward and provide statements to assist in the prosecution of the scammers.
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