Africrypt Founders Return to South Africa After Years in Hiding: Report

South Africa’s so-called “Bitcoin Brothers,” Raees and Ameer Cajee, have quietly returned to the nation years after the collapse of their crypto funding platform Africrypt, in accordance with a brand new TV investigation.

A phase aired Sunday by investigative program “Carte Blanche” stated the pair is residing contained in the gated Zimbali Property in KwaZulu-Natal, MyBroadband reported on Monday. In accordance with the report, journalists tried to method the property however have been blocked by personal safety.

The staff additionally reportedly traced the brothers to a vacation location in Umhlanga and a current tackle in Johannesburg, however didn’t make direct contact.

Gerhard Botha, a lawyer representing an investor who claims to have misplaced about $50 million, stated authorized papers have nonetheless not been served. “They will shield themselves. They have safety. As a result of they’ve cash,” Botha instructed this system.

Cointelegraph reached out to regulation companies representing duped buyers for remark, however had not acquired a response by publication.

Associated: Remittances ‘extra necessary than help’ as Africa turns to stablecoins

Africrypt pitched 13% month-to-month returns

The Cajees operated Africrypt between 2019 and 2021, selling the platform as a high-yield crypto funding service. Traders have been promised returns of as much as 13% per 30 days by a proprietary buying and selling system stated to depend on synthetic intelligence. The corporate accepts deposits in each South African rand and cryptocurrency.

Africrypt unraveled on April 13, 2021, when the founders knowledgeable customers that the platform had been hacked and its holdings stolen. Weeks later, the brothers left South Africa, ultimately touring by the Maldives earlier than reaching Dubai amid pandemic journey restrictions.

Early media stories suggested as a lot as $3.6 billion had disappeared, however subsequent investigations positioned the determine nearer to $40 million to $50 million, in accordance with MyBroadband. The precise quantity of investor losses stays unknown.

The case drew worldwide consideration because the founders moved throughout a number of jurisdictions, together with Tanzania and the United Arab Emirates. Ameer Cajee was later arrested in Switzerland in 2021 whereas visiting safe-deposit bins believed to comprise {hardware} wallets holding cryptocurrency. He was launched on bail months later.

Associated: South Africa’s central financial institution says no ‘robust speedy want’ for CBDC

South Africa warns crypto, stablecoins pose new dangers

In November 2025, South Africa’s central financial institution recognized digital property and stablecoins as an rising danger to the monetary system as crypto adoption accelerated. In its second Monetary Stability Report for 2025, the South African Reserve Financial institution stated customers throughout the nation’s three largest crypto exchanges reached 7.8 million by July, with about $1.5 billion held in custody on the finish of 2024.