A deeply troubling pattern of alleged profiteering and questionable practices is unraveling within South Africa’s financial sector, as online trading platform Banxso blows the whistle on what it describes as a concerted effort to force its liquidation for personal gain.
In a shocking twist, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) recently issued a public warning about fraudsters targeting Banxso’s clients. However, the company now claims that the very parties pursuing its liquidation may be linked to a data breach that enabled this fraud to occur.
At the heart of these explosive revelations is an unsecured website, banxso.liquidations.africa, which surfaced immediately after liquidation proceedings were initiated. Operated by Peddy Tech under the leadership of Craig Pederson, this website promotes Herman Bester and Riaan Van Rooyen as potential liquidators for Banxso while simultaneously harvesting sensitive client data. What makes this more alarming is that the site displays prominent security warnings, yet it has continued to collect private information, raising serious concerns about the breach.
The financial motivations behind this alleged liquidation scheme are equally disturbing. Court documents from a previous liquidation — the notorious Mirror Trading International (MTI) case — show that liquidators Bester and Van Rooyen pocketed a staggering R120 million in fees. These payouts include at least R15 million each for the liquidators, R13.6 million for the forensic firm Computer Guyz (owned by Craig Pederson), and nearly R25 million for law firm Mostert and Bosman. Yet, despite these hefty fees, not a single creditor has seen a cent of repayment.
Adding fuel to the fire, Banxso claims that a R57 million settlement offer from its directors — intended to guarantee 100% repayment to applicants — was rejected by Mostert and Bosman. This offer, which would have ensured full recovery for the applicants, was dismissed without any explanation, even while the freeze on Banxso’s client funds remained in place, contrary to a previous court order for their release.
This tangled web of relationships raises serious questions about the motivations of those involved. Pierre Du Toit, a key member of Mostert and Bosman, who is currently driving Banxso’s liquidation, also served as legal counsel for MTI. Moreover, the proposed liquidators for Banxso, Bester and Van Rooyen, had previously appointed Du Toit’s firm to handle the lucrative MTI estate.
In what can only be described as a highly questionable move, the main applicant, Mrs. Wentzel, was found to have actually doubled her money before losing funds due to her own trading decisions. Instead of addressing these facts, the response from the liquidation team was to aggressively seek additional applicants, raising concerns over the integrity of the entire process.
The FSCA, tasked with overseeing the sector, has come under fire for its response to these events. Instead of investigating the unsecured website and the potential data breach it represents, the FSCA issued a public warning without consulting Banxso or probing deeper into the alleged security breach. This approach has led many to question whether the FSCA is more focused on creating a public spectacle than on addressing the real issues at play.
A senior financial analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed concerns about the true nature of the proceedings: “This isn’t about protecting investors anymore — it’s about manufacturing a crisis for profit. When liquidators are raking in R120 million and creditors get nothing, it’s time to ask serious questions about who’s really benefiting here.”
The timeline surrounding these events only raises more red flags. Mostert and Bosman managed to secure a postponement of liquidation proceedings until March 2025, while continuing to block the release of client funds, despite Banxso’s offer to guarantee repayment. This continued freeze on funds seems to serve no purpose other than to extend the liquidation process and ensure that the liquidators continue to collect substantial fees.
As this scandal continues to unfold, Banxso is calling it what it sees as “predatory practices” plaguing the South African financial sector. With millions of rands in fees potentially at stake, the question remains: Are these liquidation proceedings genuinely about protecting investors, or are they a calculated effort to enrich a small, well-connected group at the expense of ordinary South Africans?
The March 2025 hearing could offer more clarity, but for now, the growing body of evidence suggests that the pursuit of liquidation fees is outweighing the interests of the clients who are supposed to be the priority.
In the murky world of financial liquidation, the battle for client funds, security, and accountability is far from over — and the outcome of this case could have far-reaching consequences for South Africa’s financial landscape.
