BHI Ponzi: Warriner tries to get bail before X-mas

By Asime Nyide

BHI Ponzi mastermind Craig Warriner was due back in court on March 20 next year (2024).

But yesterday BizNews received a tip-off that he was going to apply for bail today (Tuesday 12 December) .

He did indeed appear in the Palm Ridge Magistrates Court in Katlehong where he addressed the court at length.

At his previous appearance, on 12 October, Warriner notified the court of his intention to cooperate, admitting to tax fraud, and implicating several “financial guys” in his elaborate scheme.

To find out what he had to say, listen below:

Warriner’s bail application was postponed to Tomorrow (Wednesday 13 December).

Warriner’s scheme, orchestrated through the BHI Trust, is said to have defrauded an estimated R1 182,906,735.00 from nearly 220 investors over the span of a decade.

The court documents reveal a web of deceit where Warriner and the trust operated without the necessary authorisations, engaging in unauthorised financial activities.

The intricate details of Warriner’s fraudulent activities are still coming to light, portraying a classic Ponzi scheme where new investments were used to pay off earlier investors.

Warriner targeted over 2,000 clients, including high-profile financial advisers, accumulating a staggering R3 billion in investments.

Craig Warriner in court today (12 December 2023)

Edited Excerpts from Craig Warriners cross examination

Craig Warriner on how the Ponzi scheme worked

Craig Warriner: Funds come in. They go to the broker so we trade the funds with the broker. They come back in so that 3.1 billion can be coming from the brokerage and from the clients, the FSCA said to me that’s it’s about 1.2 billion not 3 billion but that’s a turnover situation so it’s clients funds coming in, going to the brokerage to trade, going back from the broker and back into the bank account so the 3.1 billion might be the turnover so it’s not actual client funds.

On the misconception that he has vast resources; and the Barnard family

Craig Warriner: I’ve got 17,000 in my current accounts. I think I might have about 20,000 in my credit card. I have no assets hence the reason why, my ex-wife is trying to help me with bail because I can’t afford it. And I do not have vast resources before I had a very good lifestyle out of what I did. earned the interest which I was allowed to earn, and the interest as per the application form of all the applicants that came to me. And it also said it was unregulated. It wasn’t covered by any law. and it said you could lose all your money and there was no benching money at all. And there was one client, The Barnard family, that made R43 million rand out of this scheme and in terms of the people that say that they would be devastated. I’m not saying no one’s been devastated but it was a high net wealthy individual that came.

On if he has resources abroad and if he can afford to forfeit anything given his current situation

Craig Warriner: My ex wife has an Absa account in Mauritius and I think there may be about 600,000 maybe but I have nothing. The reason why my ex-wife is bailing me out is because my wife is having a nervous breakdown because of the way I carried on. And I feel terrible about it.

On the evidence and where it can be found

Craig Warriner: I can’t access the evidence while I’m in Sun City. The evidence will come from my server, that is in Thailand. It’s an administration guy who I used to employ. and that server is where it’s located. That is something I have undertaken to the FSCA and to the liquidators and to SARS that I’m going to try and get that server through to them plus to the prosecution as well. but there’s a sensitivity there because I think that Caddy may try if let’s say the CA or the prosecutor goes and tries to get it from him, he might curl up and maybe even destroy it.