Desiree Liebenberg, wife of alleged ponzi mastermind, denied bail

Desiree Liebenberg, the wife of alleged diamond ponzi mastermind Louis Liebenberg, was denied bail by the Bronkhorstspruit magistrate's court on Thursday.

Liebenberg, 50, and her eight co-accused are facing charges of fraud, racketeering, money laundering, theft and contravening the Companies Act.   

“It is alleged that Louis Liebenberg registered 15 companies where his ex-girlfriend Kleynhans and the rest of the accused who are either family members or have close relations, were directors,” said National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana.

In 2020 and 2021 Louis Liebenberg and co-accused Magdelena Petronella Kleynhans registered two companies that were purportedly involved in buying and selling diamonds.

“Potential investors were lured through social media and radio interviews to invest in the buying and selling of diamonds and were also promised high returns over a short period using a cashless platform called AE Switch. Thousands of investors made payments into the platform, amounting to about R4.5bn.” 

She said the accused used the proceeds of the diamond investment scheme to purchase movable and immovable assets, including two mines, various motor vehicles and silver coins and to pay for Liebenberg’s lavish wedding and honeymoon in Greece.

“When some investors did not receive the promised payments, they became suspicious and reported the matter to the police, suspecting that they had been defrauded.” 

In her affidavit, Liebenberg asked to be released on bail because she was not a flight risk.

However, state advocate Hana Conradie opposed her release on bail, saying she was a flight risk and alleged she had access to R200m that her husband had hidden from authorities. 

The case was postponed until Monday for the bail application of her husband. The case against the rest of the accused was postponed until February 4 for further investigations.

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