Nearly five years after the collapse of AfriCrypt sent shockwaves through South Africa’s crypto community, its founders, brothers Raees and Ameer Cajee, are reportedly back in the country.
- Nearly five years after the collapse of AfriCrypt sent shockwaves through South Africa’s crypto community, its founders, brothers Raees and...
- An investigative segment on Carte Blanche revealed that the pair have recently been seen in KwaZulu-Natal, including at the high-end...
- Clients were promised unusually high monthly returns, just like the CBEX recent scams in Nigeria and Kenya, reportedly reaching double...
- However, subsequent forensic reviews challenged that figure, with alternative calculations placing potential losses somewhere between tens and a few hundred...
Keep reading for the full breakdown on African — everything you need to know is covered below.
An investigative segment on Carte Blanche revealed that the pair have recently been seen in KwaZulu-Natal, including at the high-end Zimbali Estate.
Their return marks a significant moment in a saga that began in 2021 and remains one of the most controversial episodes in African crypto history.
AfriCrypt’s collapse sparked global headlines in 2021
AfriCrypt was launched in 2019 by the then-teenage brothers, who positioned the platform as a sophisticated cryptocurrency investment operation.
Clients were promised unusually high monthly returns, just like the CBEX recent scams in Nigeria and Kenya, reportedly reaching double digits, based on advanced automated trading technology.
In April 2021, investors received a sudden notification claiming the platform had been hit by a cyberattack that wiped out client funds.
They were advised against reporting the matter immediately, allegedly to avoid interfering with recovery attempts.
How much was really lost?
Early estimates suggested as much as 69,000 Bitcoin had vanished at one point, valued at roughly $3.6 billion.
However, subsequent forensic reviews challenged that figure, with alternative calculations placing potential losses somewhere between tens and a few hundred million dollars.
Legal representatives representing affected investors approached the Hawks, South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, but progress was complicated.
At the time of the collapse, cryptocurrency assets were not yet formally classified as financial products in South Africa, limiting regulatory intervention.
A changed regulatory landscape
Since the AfriCrypt incident, South Africa has moved to formally recognise crypto assets as financial products, bringing the sector under regulatory oversight.
Meanwhile, those rules were introduced after the platform’s collapse and are not retroactive.
Now that the Cajee brothers are reportedly back in South Africa, attention is once again turning to whether authorities will take further action and whether investors will finally see accountability.
For many victims, the return raises more questions than answers.
Has time shielded the founders from consequences, or is this the beginning of a long-delayed legal reckoning?