‘Lock me up, I won’t testify!’: Key witness in Louis Liebenberg case calls for probe into liquidators

They can lock him up, but he refuses to testify in the case against the notorious diamond dealer Louis Liebenberg unless the liquidators involved in the case are investigated, says Tiaan Lombard, CEO of the payment platform AE Switch.

Liebenberg started using the platform in 2021 to trade his so-called “diamond packages”.

Diamond investors were scammed of more than R4 billion since 2019, Hawks spokesperson Colonel Philani Nkwalase said in a statement.

The scam was operated under Liebenberg’s company Tariomix, better known by its trading name Forever Diamonds and Gold (FDG).

Liebenberg and his wife, Dezzi, were arrested by the Hawks on Tuesday, 23 October. Seven more arrests followed. The charges against the accused include fraud, money laundering, theft and racketeering.

Hawks enlist Lombard as agent in Liebenberg fraud probe

“After I picked up on fraudulent transactions after 12 weeks, I reported it to Colonel Danie Bruwer from the Hawks,” Lombard explains.

In a document that The Citizen has seen, Lombard was appointed on 24 August 2021 as an agent in the Hawks’ investigation (Project Dune) into FDG by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). As an agent, he was authorised to gather court-related evidence against Liebenberg.

The operation was originally approved from 25 August 2021 to 30 November 2021 but was extended to 31 January 2023.

Lombard helped PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), whom have been appointed by the Hawks, to audit the data from his platform. According to him, 45 000 individuals was registered on his platform for FDG.

“Prior to 2021, FDG did not require identity documents from the ‘investors’ in the scheme, but when they switched to my platform, I forced them to obtain this information,” Lombard says.

‘AE Switch data pivotal in court case’

“The data collected and supplied by AE Switch is crucial to the prosecution of the accused in the case,” Lombard stated in an affidavit presented to the court.

In the same affidavit, Lombard states that a liquidator named Christopher Roos contacted him in November 2022 and requested names held on AE Switche’s database. Roos allegedly wanted to use the names to liquidate Tariomix. The Citizen has seen the WhatsApp message sent to Lombard.

“I refused to divulge the information, notifying Roos that this would interfere with an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Hawks.”

In another message sent on 22 February 2023 and also seen by The Citizen, Roos again requested data to use in their application to liquidate Tariomix.

The final liquidation for Tariomix was granted on 27 February 2023. The liquidator appointment certificate was issued by the Master of the Hight Court on 8 March 2023. The Citizen is in possession of the certificate.

“However, the liquidators already started collecting data to find applicants in November the previous year,” Lombard said.

In his affidavit, Lombard states that Roos indicated that they already had an entire team ready to perform the liquidation of Tariomix, including Judge Eberhard Bertelsmann.

Lombard accuses judge of failing to prioritise justice

“I found it extremely alarming since no liquidation had been granted, but they already knew that they would be appointed as provisional liquidators,” Lombard said. “From the onset, I expressed my concern to Judge Bertelsman about the corruption taking place. At the last 417/418 hearing held with him, I expressed my disgust that a judge did not concern himself with justice, but rather with receiving payment for the ongoing liquidation process.”

According to Lombard’s affidavit, hours later it was frontpage news on Netwerk24 after the liquidator contacted the media and exposed his warrant to act as an agent for the Hawks. “This put my life in danger. In addition, Judge Bertelsman withdrew with immediate effect.”

Lombard states that the liquidators also leaked “findings” from the data handed over to them under the order of Judge Bertelsman. “This data was completely incorrect and fabricated. PwC took two years to do a complete audit, while they did it in a matter of days, which was impossible.”

Lombard withdraws as witness

In a letter to the national commissioner of police, dated 7 June 2023, Lombard writes: “AE Switch was a well-respected company, having brilliant relationships with its clients, respected by its peers and a great future ahead, employing in excess of 20 staff.

“Ever since we stopped the services presented to the party being investigated, I have experienced corruption to sickening extents having to fend against legal attacks on my company. To date the legal expenses in AE Switch extends to millions of rands.

“The general public perception of AE Switch due to this case has suffered severely. I thus regret that I need to inform you of my withdrawal as a witness in Project Dune.

“It needs to be noted, that under no circumstances should the whistle-blowers be exposed, as they will be dominated by sheer power and eventually end up where I find myself now. My multimillion-rand business was driven into the ground and people lost their jobs.

“There is no point in risking anything else as all I have left at this point in time is my life. I ask
myself daily if I would do this again and knowing what I do now, the answer is an absolute NO.
There is NO JUSTICE left in South Africa,” he concludes.

‘No testimony without SIU investigation’

Speaking to The Citizen on Tuesday, Lombard said that he couldn’t allow the corruption to continue, as “the liquidation mafia” would hunt down the public who invested in FDG. “I will not testify if they are not investigated by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). Then I will rather be locked up.”

Advocate Vaughn Victor, head liquidator of Tariomix, referred The Citizen to his lawyer, Kobus Senekal, for comment. Senekal confirmed that final liquidation for Tariomix was granted on 27 February 2023 and that the liquidator appointment certificate was issued by the Master of the Hight Court on 8 March 2023.

He also said that he does not know Roos. “I don’t understand what the story is here. This is just another smear campaign against my clients for doing their job,” he said.

*The Citizen reached out to the National Prosecuting Authority for comment. It will be added should they respond.

*The Citizen previously reported that AE Switch was liquidated. However, the case is still ongoing with the next hearing scheduled for 17 March 2025.

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