Mpumalanga businessman Gilbert Nkosi could not believe his luck when he received a call from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office informing him of a R200m investment in his company.

It was only later‚ after many e-mails and “official” correspondence‚ that he started growing suspicious.

Unfortunately‚ by this time‚ he had already paid R5‚600 in “legal fees” to enable the R200m payment; and he was being asked for another R62‚000 in “transfer fees”. Perhaps even more unfortunate: he is not the only SA businessperson who has been conned by fraudsters posing as government officials.

The State Security Agency has expressed its concern over the trend‚ and the National Treasury has published a warning on its website.

Nkosi received “calls and e-mails” from the president’s office telling him that his company has been identified to receive a R200m investment from the China Development Bank (CDB). He was to receive this funding through the help and assistance of “Ramaphosa”.

But Ramaphosa’s spokeswoman‚ Khusela Sangoni-Diko‚ said the president had no knowledge of this.

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