The Mercury
Accountant Antony Marais (at the back) walks out of the commercial court with one of the legal team members.Photo: Zanele Zulu
Durban – The uncle of a Durban North chartered accountant, who was duped into investing R1 million in a failed opportunity, said the investment had sounded “too good to be true”, but he had trusted his nephew’s advice.
Last Friday, accountant Antony Marais sat quietly in the dock of the Commercial Crime Court as his uncle Douglas Retief, of Cape Town, described how he had invested in a development venture despite initial concerns that the investment was a scam.
According to the charge sheet, Marais, whose office was in Enniskillen Crescent, is charged with seven counts of fraud amounting to R6m. It is alleged he had a pattern of “rolling funds” and withdrew money for his personal use.
Retief, who lost R1m, said Marais had called him in March 2010 to discuss an investment opportunity. The investment involved providing bridging finance to a company to enable it to complete a property development.
The company was offering a 3-percent monthly dividend for a six-month period and thereafter the capital would be repaid.
“I asked him if it was a scam given the good returns, but he reassured me by saying he was also investing in it.
“I trusted my nephew and held him in high regard in terms of professionalism.”
Retief said he got his dividend payouts for five months.
“The sixth payment never happened and I never got my capital. He (Marais) gave me a litany of stories about why the payment was being delayed. He said there were issues with VAT refunds to the company and the money coming from other sources.”
Asked by Marais’s attorney, Satch Morgan, if he knew high returns often came with high risks, Retief said he had been assured there was no risk in the investment.
“I do accept there are risks with high returns. But I was given absolute assurance there was no risk. Otherwise I would not have touched it.”
Retief admitted he had not asked Marais about the financial affairs of the company he was investing in.
“Perhaps I was naive, but I trusted his discretion. I was hoping to boost my savings fund to pay for my daughter’s overseas studies, I took the money out of my home access bond because of the confidence I had in him.”
Accountant Michael Rogers testified that he had invested R1m of his clients’ money with Marais in what he described as a “gilt-edged investment” to get “better returns”.
“My clients wanted to earn a bit more than what the bank offered. One of them was a widow who could not survive on what she was getting. He (Marais) struck me as an honest person and it seemed like a good investment because it was backed by an accountant.”
Rogers said things went sour after only about two dividend payments were received.
“There were promises and promises, but nothing was paid. We got a court judgment for the full amount and we later found there were other creditors that monies had been promised to.”
Rogers said he paid back his clients out of his own pocket.
Asked by Morgan if there was a legal obligation to pay the investors, Rogers said it was not required.
“It was not a legal obligation,” he said. “It was a moral obligation. That is what the accountancy profession demands. I do not guarantee investments, but I believe you ought to exercise the integrity that is expected of us.”
The case has been adjourned to next week.
kamini.padayachee@inl.co.za
The Mercury
