The Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) secured a court order to preserve over R4.3 million in a bank account belonging to KwaZulu-Natal-based company Piggy Farm Trading (Pty) Ltd.
The order was obtained in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria.
“The Mercury” had reported this week that the National Consumer Commission (NCC) had said it was investigating the activities of the company including a complaint that it may be running an alleged multiplication scheme.
In a statement, Lumka Mahanjana, NPA Gauteng regional spokesperson, said that it was alleged Piggy Farm Trading company had been running a Ponzi scheme where individuals could purchase up to 50 virtual pigs at R2 750 per pig, in a digital “Metaverse” Piggy Farm.
“It is a virtual pig, the investment is risk-free because the pig gets substituted with another pig in the event it dies. In return for investment, the investor will be paid R550 per month for 12 months, and after 12 months, the pig will be returned to Piggy Farm Trading.”
Mahanjana said that the NCC was conducting an investigation into Piggy Farm Trading after receiving complaints from investors.
“They discovered that Piggy Farm Trading operated a multiplication scheme, which offered an effective interest rate of 140%, which exceeded the repo rate by more than 20%. This is a contravention of the National Consumer Protection Act. In addition, further investigations by the AFU revealed that the whole scheme appears to be a fraud.”
Mahanjana added that the name and/or location of the so-called farm is not revealed on the website of Piggy Farm Trading or any of the social platforms where they advertised the scheme.
“Piggy Farm only refers to an address in the Durban CBD and its different branches. It is therefore doubtful that a farm or even pigs, to the extent of the investments received, exist. The funds received as investments would suggest pig farming on a mega scale.”
Mahanjana said that the business account of Piggy Farm Trading held over R16m as recently as February 2024.
“The AFU therefore concluded that there is no underlying business model and that incoming investors were paid from previous investments to keep the scheme going. This carries the hallmarks of a classic Ponzi scheme.”
Mahanjana added that the scheme was unsustainable as it is bound to implode when no new investors were forthcoming with the majority of investors losing their money.
Regional head of Pretoria AFU, Martin Mafojane, said that he welcomed the order.
“I warn members of the public against investing in schemes like this, where the promised returns of investments far exceed the interest rates offered by reputable institutions.”
Mafojane also urged investors to open criminal cases against the company, as the preservation order was granted pursuant to the implementation of Chapter 6 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.
“This is a non-conviction-based approach to asset recovery. This means that the AFU will not always wait for a prosecution and conviction to occur before taking away suspected proceeds of crime, as is the case with the traditional approach of Chapter 5 of the act.”
Piggy Farm Trading was contacted on both their contact numbers but they could not be reached for comment at time of publication.
The Mercury