It was recently brought to my attention that a Telegram group, marketing itself as an investment scheme, was created in the name of Afrimat Limited. This follows a similar unlawful cryptocurrency scheme that was also operating on Telegram last year.
Like the previous unlawful group, clear imaging of the official Afrimat logo set as the profile picture and a false Gmail address in my name is being used.
The modus operandi is also similar to the previous one, where the group sends links to unsuspecting individuals on WhatsApp, inviting them to join the Telegram Group.
By using the Afrimat name and logo along with impersonating myself, the group seeks to lend credibility to the scheme by creating the impression that the scheme is endorsed and underwritten by Afrimat. This in turn enables the persons operating the scheme to unlawfully solicit funds from unsuspecting individuals for purposes of investing in the fraudulent scheme.
I wish to state that Afrimat has never and does not trade on any platform other than the regulated stock exchanges of the JSE and A2X, nor do we or have any intention both now and in the future of conducting any form of investment schemes or providing any financial services through any platform, including but not limited to platforms such as WhatsApp or Telegram.
Furthermore, we firmly distance ourselves from this scheme and want no association with this scheme or its operators.
As this is clearly an unlawful scheme and a deliberate attempt at harming the good name and reputation of Afrimat, we are now considering taking criminal action to bring the perpetrators to book.
Andries van Heerden
Chief Executive Officer
Afrimat Limited
