'Queen of England' Pension Scheme Scams 40 000 Retired SANDF Members of R3.6 Million

• The name and status of the Queen of England has been used to scam 40 000 retired soldiers in South Africa
• According to the Western Cape police, two men have been arrested for scamming retired veterans into thinking they would receive a pension payout in US dollars
• The men made the retired soldiers pay R40 in administration fees and made off with R1.6 million

CAPE TOWN - Police in the Western Cape has arrested two men aged 63 and 65, who scammed 40 000 retired members of the South African National Defence Force and stole about R1.6 million from the veterans.

The men launched a scheme in which they used the British Army and the Queen of England to lure the retired soldiers into the elaborate scam, according to a report by News24. The scam involved claiming that millions of US dollars have been made available to retired veterans as a pension payout by the British Army.

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To access this pension fund, veterans were asked to pay an administration fee of R40 each, according to Captain FC van Wyk, Western Cape police spokesperson.

Van Wyk stated they were alerted about the scheme by retired soldiers who laid charges against the fraudulent 'Colonel' and his accomplices.

According to TimesLIVE, the suspects also managed to scam the veterans of R2 million in what claimed to be loans they would payback.

“Based on the envisaged pension payouts, the 'colonel' managed to further obtain loans, in excess of R2m, with the promise to repay the loan when the funds were cleared in SA,” said Van Wyk.

The men made an appearance at the Paarl magistrate’s court on Thursday.

Hawks nab 6 SANDF members charging R15 000 for smuggled vehicles

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Briefly News previously reported that six South African National Defence Force Members situated at Beitbridge border post have been arrested for allegedly working alongside criminals to smuggle stolen vehicles across the Limpopo River for money.

Captain Matimba Maluleke, Police spokesperson, stated that the six suspects were allegedly charging R15 000 per vehicle.

The Hawks, Crime Intelligence, National Intervention Unit and the military were all part of a team set up to catch the six. Reports say that the individuals were aged between 30 and 51 years old and that the smuggling operation dates back to 2017.

Source: Briefly News