KWAZULU-NATAL – Today 28 September 2022, the Hawks members from Durban Serious Corruption Investigation arrested Thys Bekker (57) and his wife, Irma Bekker (53) for alleged fraud.

It is alleged that between 2010 and 2015, Thys enticed people to invest in his business and promised them lucrative returns. He claimed that his company known as People’s Oil Tree is selling moringa trees for R50-00 each and investors will receive R500-00 after twelve months. More than R10 million was deposited into their various accounts.

Bekker allegedly failed to pay back his investors. A case of fraud was reported at Durban Central police station and the case docket was allocated to the Hawks for an intensive investigation resulting in the couple’s arrest this morning.

They briefly appeared in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court and they were released on R5 000-00 bail each. The case was postponed to 11 October 2022.

Source: South African Police Service