Thanks to a chain of events, set in motion by a man with no regard for others, Raphah Ministries and the impoverished who call the NGO home, are now facing troubled waters. This follows the property’s owner, Michael de Beer, finding himself “hitting the fan”.
This is after the Assets Forfeiture Unit (AFU) swooped down on his Dundee business, Coin-It Trading.
Coin-It is an investment scheme which was liquidated earlier this year by the Pietermaritzburg High Court, after investors searched for answers, believing the business was nothing more than a Ponzi Scheme. According to allegations, the company offered clients the investment opportunity of a lifetime—one which would see returns of 200% on the investment, in just three years. (As the old saying goes, “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.”)
These investments involved clients paying a once-off deposit for equipment, whereafter they were then promised they would be paid monthly profits for the use of the said equipment.
This was not to be, and now with people searching for their money, the AFU became involved in the matter, coming down hard on de Beer, thereby seizing and liquidating the firm’s properties and assets worth R106 million.
Natasha Kara, the National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson said the seizure was made possible after the unit obtained a preservation order in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act No. 21 of 1998, in the Pietermaritzburg High Court. Now, this is where things get interesting—the seized assets belonging to the company included eight properties in the Dundee, Colenso and Hattingspruit areas, as well as five aircraft and vehicles. According to Kara, these assets would be held under curatorship pending the outcome of a forfeiture application.
Gerd and Sonja Luus of Raphah Ministries affirm that while the land on which their mission stands was never acquired through Coin-It, they are living in a state of uncertainty as de Beer’s case is ongoing. “We don’t know a lot about what is going on. All that we know is what we read and hear from the news. In fact, we only heard in January 2019, that the land on which Raphah is situated was sold in 2018 already and we had to vacate. The company then said they would be renovating the property, which they started doing.”
However, Gerd and Sonja claim the renovations suddenly came to a grinding halt in the same year—but were assured they could continue with their services until now that is.
With the local charity currently sitting in a state of limbo and only having faith to go on, Gerd has this to say, “We are not afraid. We have seen how God’s hand works. We have to be patient and stand in faith.”
Supporting Gerd, Sonja states, over the past 14 years, Raphah Ministries has survived varied attacks and has persevered, due to their unwavering faith in God. But with Michael de Beer being R106 million in the red, one can only but imagine that he would be selling off assets to stay afloat. Therefore, hopefully, faith comes through for Raphah one last time, but this might not be the case this time around.
Authors: Quinton Boucher and Calvin Swemmer
Edited: Calvin Swemmer
