Cape Town – The Johannesburg Magistrates’ court reportedly granted Ugandan national Amon Namara, 43, R500 000 bail in a case where he was charged for fraud and money laundering on Wednesday.
According to City Press, Namara met a woman on Tinder, a dating site.
Before coercing her to borrow him money to start his non-existent business, Namara met with the woman.
He wined and dined with her with the promise of giving her “everlasting love”.
Namara introduced to the woman his plan of starting a business venture. However, the business venture needed money to kickstart.
He then persuaded the woman to borrow money from her friends on the condition that he would do the same.
The woman fell for it and spoke to her two friends who then borrowed her an amount of R3 million to give to Namara to start the business.
The woman electronically transferred R1.3 million into Namara’s FNB account. She later withdrew R1.7 million in portions and handed it over to him.
However, Namara cut contact with her after he had received the money, IOL reported.
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“Once the applicant received the R3 million, he disappeared and left the complainant with a huge debt to service. It was at that time that the complainant realised that the relationship between the two of them was actually a scam … The applicant came into her life with an intention to defraud her,” the report quoted Lieutenant Colonel Sello Mohapeloa’s affidavit.
Namara did not invest the money in a business, as he claimed, but instead used it to fund his lavish lifestyle.
Amongst other things, Namara allegedly bought a blue Mercedes Benz worth R722 000 in cash, registering it in the name of his ex-wife who denied giving him permission to do so.
According to Drum, Namara is a dating site influencer who poses with expensive cars. He allegedly told his victims he was a millionaire and owned several properties in and around Sandton.
He used a relative’s Visa to remain in South Africa. He was married to a South African woman and divorced, leading the State to believe he was now undocumented, according to IOL.
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City Press reported that his ex-wife, a medical doctor, also said that she was duped out of R800 000, while two girlfriends said he duped them out of more than R100 000 as well.
More charges are expected to be filed against him.
Namara was released on bail with conditions.
“Bail is set at R500 000. You will report once a week to your nearest police station. No contact should be made with witnesses. You are to hand over all your passports to the investigating officer and you are not to leave the Republic of South Africa, ruled Magistrate Nishani Beharie as quoted by the report.
Namara’s next court appearance will be on April 11 at the Johannesburg Magistrates Court.
A News24 report said that the magistrate, Nishani Beharie, set the hefty bail amount for Amon Amonelo Namara because of the gravity of the charges.
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Compiled by Sinothando Siyolo
