Bushiri's flock out of pocket after cash 'lost' in investment scheme

Investors who put their faith in an investment scheme with links to pastor Shepherd Bushiri's church are out of pocket after their money was "lost".

About 250 members of the Mpumalanga branch of Bushiri's Enlightened Christian Gathering church have reported the losses to church leaders and to the Hawks. The members had invested the money with a senior pastor at the church, Nicholus Mgiba, who is CEO of Merger Chen Solutions (MCS).

Hawks spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi said they were investigating the reports.

Though no figures are known, other investors from Limpopo, the Eastern Cape and Gauteng are also affected. In Mpumalanga, members said they had invested R10m.

According to a document that investors claim was given to them by MCS, and which the Sunday Times has seen, the congregants were promised huge returns.

Those who invested R200,000 were promised R11.5m after six months. Those who invested R1m were promised R57.6m in six months. Most investors are said to be retired people.

In a meeting this week at Bushiri's Pretoria church, senior pastors allegedly told investor representatives that Shepherd Bushiri Investments (SBI) had also "been defrauded".

Shepherd Bushiri Trading, a subsidiary of SBI, invested congregants' money in a fraudulent scheme, investors were told.

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