South Africa’s so-called “Bitcoin Brothers,” Raees and Ameer Cajee, have quietly returned to the nation years after the collapse of their crypto funding platform Africrypt, in response to a brand new TV investigation.
A section aired Sunday by investigative program “Carte Blanche” stated the pair is residing contained in the gated Zimbali Property in KwaZulu-Natal, MyBroadband reported on Monday. Based on the report, journalists tried to method the property however have been blocked by personal safety.
The staff additionally reportedly traced the brothers to a vacation location in Umhlanga and a current tackle in Johannesburg, however didn’t make direct contact.
Gerhard Botha, a lawyer representing an investor who claims to have misplaced about $50 million, stated authorized papers have nonetheless not been served. “They will defend themselves. They’ve received safety. As a result of they’ve cash,” Botha advised this system.
Cointelegraph reached out to legislation corporations representing duped buyers for remark, however had not obtained a response by publication.
Associated: Remittances ‘extra necessary than support’ as Africa turns to stablecoins
Africrypt pitched 13% month-to-month returns
The Cajees operated Africrypt between 2019 and 2021, selling the platform as a high-yield crypto funding service. Buyers have been promised returns of as much as 13% monthly by way of a proprietary buying and selling system stated to depend on synthetic intelligence. The corporate accepted deposits in each South African rand and cryptocurrency.
Africrypt unraveled on April 13, 2021, when the founders knowledgeable customers that the platform had been hacked and its holdings stolen. Weeks later, the brothers left South Africa, finally touring by way of the Maldives earlier than reaching Dubai amid pandemic journey restrictions.
Early media experiences instructed as a lot as $3.6 billion had disappeared, however subsequent investigations positioned the determine nearer to $40 million to $50 million, in response to MyBroadband. The precise quantity of investor losses stays unknown.
The case drew worldwide consideration because the founders moved throughout a number of jurisdictions, together with Tanzania and the United Arab Emirates. Ameer Cajee was later arrested in Switzerland in 2021 whereas visiting safe-deposit containers believed to include {hardware} wallets holding cryptocurrency. He was launched on bail months later.
Associated: South Africa’s central financial institution says no ‘sturdy quick want’ for CBDC
South Africa warns crypto, stablecoins pose new dangers
In November 2025, South Africa’s central financial institution recognized digital property and stablecoins as an rising threat to the monetary system as crypto adoption accelerated. In its second Monetary Stability Report for 2025, the South African Reserve Financial institution stated customers throughout the nation’s three largest crypto exchanges reached 7.8 million by July, with about $1.5 billion held in custody on the finish of 2024.
The financial institution warned that the borderless nature of crypto might enable funds to bypass exchange-control guidelines governing capital flows. It additionally famous that US dollar-pegged stablecoins have more and more changed Bitcoin (BTC) and different main tokens as the first buying and selling pair on native platforms attributable to their decrease volatility.
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