A young self-employed Durban man has been charged with fraud amounting to R2.6-million in an alleged luxury property development scam on Durbans beachfront.
Previn Naidoo, 22, of Effingham Heights was arrested at his workplace on South Beach on Friday by members of the Durban Comercial Crime Unit.
He appeared briefly in the Durban Magistrates Court and the matter was adjourned until Wednesday for further investigation.
He was not asked to plead and was remanded in custody.
The fraud charge relates to the purchase of property and shares in a close corporation between August 2003 and March 2004.
The police have investigated a complaint by an investor that two men allegedly tried to lure a number of black women into investing millions in a property development.
The investor claimed she had been told the deal involved the purchase of a shopping complex, several old houses and vacant land on Durbans South Beach.
The investor alleged that she was told she was investing in the development of a 30-storey luxury block of flats that would yield profits of some R100-million, and had arranged R2.6-million finance to buy a stake in the deal.
But later the deal soured and, as plans proceeded, she became suspicious of the deal and reported her concerns to the police.
01/05/2005
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Bongani Mthethwa Sunday Times
Publisher: Sunday Times
Source: Inet Bridge
