High-flying lifestyle of ‘Ponzi’ priest

A pastor with a high-end lifestyle, allegedly thanks to a Ponzi scheme, told a court he needs R90K a month for expenses.

Cape Town - A Cape Town Town pastor who lives a celebrity-like lifestyle, allegedly thanks to a Ponzi scheme, has told the Western Cape High Court he needs R90 000 a month for expenses, including to pay for two BMWs and the R25 000 a month instalment on his Jaguar F-Type V8 S convertible.

And he makes no apologies for his high-end lifestyle, complaining that he and his family are “accustomed to living a comfortable lifestyle”, which came courtesy of his tireless hard work, and “investing a lot of time in attaining a successful company”.

Prosecuting authorities, on the other hand, are demanding to know what happened to more than R500 million which once reflected in the bank account of his company Platinum Forex, the alleged Ponzi scheme.

This emerged in the High Court when Colin Davids, New Direction Grace Church pastor, asked Judge Siraj Desai to give him access to some of his money under the control of a curator, thanks to a preservation order obtained two months ago by the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU).

Davids complained in an affidavit that his livelihood was under threat, and asked the curator to pay him R90 000 a month for day-to-day expenses, including clothing, food and school fees, as well as R200 000 a month for legal fees.

The AFU believes, however, that Davids has access to the R500m, and so doesn’t need extra funds.

Davids is the sole member of Platinum Forex CC, and he and the close corporation are under investigation for allegedly luring unsuspecting victims with promises of returns as high as 84 percent on forex investments.

Investors’ money was allegedly used to to pay others, and investigators believe Davids splashed the rest on upmarket property, flashy cars and an extravagant lifestyle.

In court papers it emerged that Davids’s monthly expenses amount to R89 779, including R10 000 for entertainment and “ancillary expenses”, R15 000 for groceries and toiletries for a family of six, R2 000 for his older daughters, tuition fees for his younger children, and instalments for the cars.

He now claims he and his family will have to scale down their lifestyle due to the proceedings.

Davids said he had been unable to provide for his family’s basic needs since the AFU obtained the preservation order. He said he had already had to borrow R50 000 from concerned family and friends, so now had no choice but to approach the court for relief.

The AFU is opposing his application.

Under the aegis of the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), the unit said it appeared Davids had money at his disposal.

Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Leonardo Goosen said in an affidavit that about R550m went into the Nedbank account of Platinum Forex, believed to be Davids’s alter ego, between August last year and June this year.

By the time the AFU obtained the preservation order and the curator took control of the bank account, less than R2m remained.

Asset investigator Ricardo Rhoda established that R50 000 was invested, and the curator has taken control of the proceeds of the investment.

However, more than R500 0000 is unaccounted for, the AFU alleged.

“The (NDPP) hereby invites (Davids) to disclose what happened to the said amount that is not under the control of the curator to enable the honourable court to make an assessment to establish whether the applicant may not be able to pay his living and legal expenses from it,” Goosen said.

It is the AFU’s case that the court should not even entertain the application because Davids failed to meet two essential jurisdictional requirements – making a full and frank disclosure of all his assets, and establishing that he has a real need.

In replying papers, Davids said he was unable to shed more light because the AFU had seized all bank statements.

Judge Desai reserved judgment.

Weekend Argus