Warrant out for ‘rough diamond’
ALLEGED FRAUD: INVESTORS ‘LOSE MILLIONS IN DEALS’
Con was simple, with promise of high return, says investigator.
Awarrant of arrest has been issued by the police for the alleged mastermind behind multimillion-rand fraudulent deals. Fabienne Rissler allegedly relieved investors of large sums of money for a diamond that never existed.
The con was simple yet effective, high risk with the promise of a high return, said forensic investigator Chad Thomas of IRS Specialised Investigations.
Rissler would allegedly source uncut diamonds. She would then apparently sell them on the international market at a profit to investors.
Investors were allegedly courted to invest in rough, uncut and unpolished diamonds that Rissler supposedly procured in Sierra Leone.
But the quality was poor, so returns were small. Enter the large diamond, which Rissler allegedly smuggled from Namibia. It was a sparkly ticket, but it turned out that she had been duped. It was a fake, but it allegedly didn’t stop her from ensnaring investors, later claiming the diamond was stolen.
Rissler allegedly arranged a catalogue photographic shoot with the rock to evidence its existence to potential investors. Its size was akin to the Tiffany 128 carat diamond made famous by Beyonce five years ago, which was valued at well over $130 million (about R2.4 billion) at the time.
The piece of glass thus held significant allure in perceived value. “She allegedly assured investors that from South Africa, the diamond will be shipped to Mauritius where it would be polished and sold off,” said Thomas.
Participants in the scheme would unknowingly deposit their funds into an IDNA Institute bank account.
Once deposited, she allegedly moved the funds into bank accounts opened by close friends and family who, in turn, reportedly transferred the money to a bank account in Mauritius.
So far, victims have lost around R7 million and counting.