Tannenbaum agent faces fraud charges

Attorney Ian Levitt confirmed a charge had been laid at the Sandton Police Station by one of the investors his firm represents. The case has been taken over by the SAPS commercial crime unit in Pretoria, notes Business Report. Warren Goldblatt, head of private law enforcement agency Specialised Services Group, confirmed his firm had assisted a client last week to lay a criminal complaint against Tannenbaum with the police organised crime unit. Levitt said the charge laid against Rees was of fraud for taking money under false pretences, which had been revealed in the fraudulent orders from pharmaceutical companies. Tannenbaum has denied any wrongdoing. Full report in Business Report

Allegations against Tannenbaum and Rees, who allegedly recruited investors for Tannenbaum's scheme, continue to mount. Business Report reports that Kobus Beukes, a private investigator, has asked the police to investigate a complaint of fraud against both. Confirming that the complaint had been made, a police spokesperson said the case had been handed over to the Johannesburg Commercial Crime Unit. Beukes, an associate director of Nexus Forensic Services, said he was hired by an unidentified investor, who believed he had been defrauded: 'We compiled an affidavit for our client and we registered a case of fraud against (Tannenbaum and Rees).' Full report in Business Report

There was a remarkable twist in the tale on Monday in the Queen's Bench division of the UK High Court in London, says the Financial Mail. Qatar-based real estate company Barwa successfully obtained a freezing order on the worldwide assets of lawyer Dean Rees. Rees recruited investors to the scheme, and some investor payments were made through his trust account and investment company, Suscito. Rees has said he was an unwitting pawn of Tannenbaum. But to get the freezing order, Barwa used a written 'statutory declaration' from Tannenbaum, in which he claims that Rees and another investor, James Patterson, set up 'a fraudulent scheme'. The FM says that although this 'declaration' is not yet public, it will be the first significant step that Tannenbaum has taken to defend himself and lay the blame on others. However, Tannenbaum's attorney Darryl Ackerman said Tannenbaum had not signed the document. Rees said he would fight this 'most vigorously'. The report says that with further disclosures likely now that Tannenbaum has apparently turned on Rees, a truer picture should emerge in the next few weeks. Full Financial Mail report (subscription needed)