SUKKE ONTIME COLLECTED OVER E32M FROM PUBLIC - CBE REPORT

MBABANE - Sukke Ontime Investment is alleged to have received a sum of E32 749 793.48 from members of the public.

This is contained in a report compiled by the Central Bank of Eswatini, after extensive investigations into the affairs of the company.

The amount, as per investigations, was purportedly collected from the general public between 2017 and 2019.

The report, which has been presented to the High Court, reflects that a sum of E22 832 142.23 was paid as return on investment to various members of the public who had invested in the company.

According to the 14-page report, an amount of E7 107 392.74 was allegedly used by the director of the company, Maqhawe Gama, for various personal ends or enrichment.

Unaccounted 

The report further reveals that E2 107 493.82 is unaccounted for.

The investigation started on June 20, 2019 and the report was compiled this month.

The modus operandi of Ontime Investments was to allegedly lure members of the public to purchase photocopiers from the company as an investment. The aspiring investors were to be paid monthly rentals for the photocopier while Ontime Investments would be responsible for managing, servicing and supplying toner and paper for the machine.

The Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) stated that it received a tip-off from a concerned citizen about Sukke Ontime Investments’ operations in Manzini, who presented a pamphlet that outlined the company’s business.

In its investigations report, the CBE stated that as a result, on June 20, 2019, it commissioned a team of three officers to conduct a mystery shopping visit on Sukke Investment’s premises at Summer Place Building in Manzini.

“The aim of the mystery shopping visit was to determine Sukke’s business style,  the location of the premises, validate the existence of the leased machines, the operational licences, investments by customers and return/benefit to customers,” reads part of the report. The investigating team, according to the report, established the following: that Sukke had been in operation since 2017 and had allegedly received numerous deposits from investors across the country.   

It was also discovered that the company (Sukke) had a general dealer trading licence, currently trading in the photocopying machine business.   

The investigators further highlighted that during their investigations, they found that individual customers were made to choose to purchase photocopying machines on the list of machines by depositing money into either Sukke’s EswatiniBank or First National Bank accounts. 

Leased 

Sukke then reportedly purchased second-hand machines in Johannesburg and leased them to companies and schools in the country.

“The individuals who invested in the business had different benefit levels and investment periods depending on the photocopying machine in which they invested. Sukke was responsible for the repairs and maintenance of the machines while investors received monthly returns of the investments,” stated the report. During the investigation, it was also purportedly found that the contracts between the investors (photocopier owner) and Sukke stated that the investor would, one month prior to the contract’s expiration, state whether the machine would be auctioned or not. 

According to the investigators, the photocopiers that were found in Sukke’s office were very few and looked like old machines that the office once used.

“Following the mystery shopping visit, the Central Bank investigated the operations of Sukke to establish whether the entity was operating an illegal deposit-taking business.  The purpose of the report is to present findings on the assessment of the operations or activities of Sukke Ontime Investments,” states the report.

The scope of the analysis, according to the investigating team, entailed an assessment of business model and bank statements for Sukke and its sole director and/or shareholder Gama (Maqhawe).

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