- The company behind the Africrypt scam could be salvaged
- An unknown investor is willing to plough millions in to pay back victims and re-start the trading company
- The deal include the re-hiring of the founders, who are on the run
The infrastructure behind the crypto scam Africrypt could be salvaged and a new operation could be built from its ashes in the latest twist to this extraordinary tale. Africrypt was a crypto fund managed by two young brothers, Raees and Amir Cajee, who are accused of faking a hack on the company to explain what happened to the some $3 billion that ploughed into the fund, money that was not on the company’s books when the pair fled South Africa in June. Victims have accepted an offer to buy what remains of Africrypt and turn it back into a going concern, marking an incredible turnaround.
Africrypt Rises From the Ashes
When the Cajee brothers fled their home in South Africa for shores unknown five months ago, that seemed to be it for their venture, Africrypt. However, Africrypt investors voted recently to accept an offer of R77 million ($4 million) from a mystery investor who proposed taking 51% of the company in return and, seemingly, getting it going again.
The same mystery benefactor proposes putting another roughly R15.2 million ($1 million) into the company to get it operational and take ownership of the intellectual property reportedly created by the Cajee brothers, suggesting that there actually might have been something there after all. Ruann Kruger, legal representative for the Africrypt liquidators, reported that, “There seems to be a belief among some that there is some useful intellectual property in the company, and the idea is that the company will acquire this as part of the compromise.” The remaining 49% of the shares will be distributed pro rata to the creditors.
Investor Wants Founders Back
The deal contained one condition that did not pass with some Africrypt investors – that criminal prosecution be withdrawn against the Cajees and “affiliated entities”. Such a deal would have amounted to ‘compounding’, where someone agrees not to prosecute a crime in return for a reward, which is illegal.
As well as implementing a board with four directors, the would-be owners have also requested that the Cajee brothers be re-hired in unstated roles for Africrypt, something else that will likely go down very badly with some investors. While investors negotiate the finer points of the deal, the civil case against the Cajee brothers continues.
