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It’s the Louis Liebenberg 'reality' show as alleged diamond scammer mounts his own defence

It’s the Louis Liebenberg 'reality' show as alleged diamond scammer mounts his own defence
Louis Liebenberg and his eight co-accused face charges of fraud, money laundering, theft and racketeering involving R4-billion. (Photo: Deaan Vivier / Gallo Images)
Vincent Cruywagen
By Vincent Cruywagen
26 Nov 2024
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Alleged diamond scammer Louis Liebenberg is representing himself in his bid to be released on bail. Here’s the case against him, his defence, and the just plain weird.

The bail application of suspected diamond scammer Louis Liebenberg will continue on Thursday, 28 November, in the Bronkhorstspruit Magistrates’ Court after it was postponed on Tuesday. Liebenberg has informed the court he intends to call witnesses to take the stand.

Liebenberg (60) appeared in court without a lawyer and presented his own arguments.

During his testimony, Liebenberg presented himself as a good samaritan and philanthropist striving for access to the country’s mineral wealth in order to boost employment.

He was warned by the court that he needed to prove that it was in the best interests of justice to release him on bail. He was also told that evidence used against his co-accused in their bail application might be used against him in his own bail application.

Liebenberg is accused of operating a R4-billion diamond Ponzi scheme. He denies stealing R4.5-billion from investors, as the State alleges.

Liebenberg, referred to by the State as the ringleader of the Ponzi scheme, and his wife, Desiree, were arrested at a Gauteng restaurant in October 2024. Their arrest came after a five-year investigation into diamond fraud.

The State alleges that Liebenberg, his wife, who was denied bail last week, and seven other people are members of a diamond syndicate. Liebenberg’s company, Tariomix, which traded as Forever Diamonds and Gold, has been under investigation by the Hawks since 2019.

The other seven facing charges are Liebenberg’s former lawyer, Walter Niedinger (55); Tariomix co-director Magdalena Kleynhans (54); Liebenberg’s assistant, Nicolize van Heerden (58); his former office manager, Helena Schulenburg (59); Johannes Badenhorst (41) and Christell Badenhorst (42), former directors at companies run by Liebenberg; and former employee Adriaan Dewald Strydom (35).

The nine face 42 counts of fraud (alternatively theft), five counts of racketeering, six counts of money laundering and various statutory offences, including contraventions of the Companies Act. The seven other accused have all been released on bail.

The evidence


Louis Liebenberg gets into police van Louis Liebenberg after a previous appearance at Bronkhorstspruit Magistrates’ Court on 24 October 2024. (Photo: Deaan Vivier / Beeld / Gallo Images)



Alleged diamond scammer Louis Liebenberg in court Louis Liebenberg gesticulates during a previous appearance at Bronkhorstspruit Magistrates’ Court on 24 October 2024. He and his eight co-accused face charges of fraud, money laundering, theft and racketeering involving R4-billion. (Photo: Deaan Vivier / Gallo Images)



Liebenberg is alleged to have advertised unpolished diamonds on social media and invited potential investors to invest in his diamond dealing business, with the promise of a lucrative return, which never materialised.

The Hawks probe into this alleged Ponzi scheme, led by Colonel Daniel Bruwer, revealed that Liebenberg registered 15 companies where his ex-girlfriend Kleynhans and the rest of the accused, who are either family members or have close relations, were directors.

The investigation further revealed that in 2020 Liebenberg and Kleynhans registered a company called Tariomix where they were both directors. Another company called Forever Zircon was registered in 2021. Both these companies were purportedly involved in buying and selling diamonds.

The State contends: “The accused utilised the proceeds of the diamond investment scheme to purchase movable and immovable assets, including two mines, and various motor vehicles – a Ford bakkie, BMW 230i Sport, Toyota Agya – Kruger rands and silver coins and [to] pay for Liebenberg’s lavish wedding and honeymoon in Greece. Various immovable properties, including an office block, were purchased.”

Read more: Shower buddies – the explosive inside story of ‘diamond swindler’ Louis Liebenberg’s political wheeling and dealing

Liebenberg’s case 


For Liebenberg to be released on bail, he has to show there are exceptional circumstances which in the interest of justice permit his release.

Liebenberg unequivocally denies that he took R4.5-billion from investors, as claimed by the State. It is also his contention that the State isn’t sure of its own case and whether all these charges will stand in court.

“It is an absolute lie that we have taken R4.5-billion of people. We have delivered R4.6-billion and paid about R4.5-billion, a hundred million difference. We have mines, workers, assets and buildings, and have given out R4.5-billion, but the State accuses us of theft.

“While the whole propaganda that Louis is a scammer and taking people's money, Louis has paid R4.5-billion out of the R4.6-billion the State claims we have taken. Louis has traded 13,000 diamonds, whereas we have mined over 200,000 carats of diamonds,” he stated.

He said the idea behind Forever Diamonds started off as a dream to allow ordinary people to own diamonds and gold. 

“What we worked towards was knowing that for the last two years, up to jail, we had employed 129 people who could not find work, and they were from the zama zama groups, as they are known in South Africa.

“What I and our colleagues did was develop a solution to a problem that will never go away in South Africa. And that is the access to mineral wealth that the ordinary person needs desperately in order to employ people,” he said.

Liebenberg is a staunch supporter of former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party and told the court he ran as a candidate in the 2024 elections as MK was unsure whether it would be recognised as a party.

He stood as an independent, winning just 307 votes in the Free State and 1,115 in Gauteng, for a total of 1,422 regional votes. That amounts to 0.04% of the vote in the Free State and 0.03% in Gauteng. The poor showing means Liebenberg will lose the R40,000 deposit he paid to stand in the elections. 

He further told the court that he partially funded MK’s legal cases as well as events at Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg and Kimberley.

He said he travelled to various other countries in Africa between 2007 and 2013, visited Switzerland, France, Italy and Spain in the 1980s, and visited Europe in 1995. He always returned, and he informed the court that he had never considered not returning to South Africa. This strengthens his position that he is not a flight risk.

The plain weird 


Liebenberg is a colourful character and is known for his controversial social media videos. During his bail hearing, he made a number of bizarre claims, including:

  • He said that as a boy he dreamed of sitting next to “Mrs Oppenheimer”, and in July 2006, when he had horses running in the Durban July, where people run naked at the end of the event, he “almost had the privilege to run next to Mrs Oppenheimer, but at that stage she was about 92-years-[old]”;

  • “I always had large amounts of cash on me. Our president, Cyril Ramaphosa did that best at Phala Phala… I’m sure they will come and witness the fact that our president doesn’t have a problem if Louis Liebenberg has a lot of cash that he travels with. What goes for the goose goes for the gander which is also applicable in the bail application,” he said.

  • “My siblings and I are like the United Nations. My one brother, Yochanan, a Jew, has been living in London for the past nine years; he also stayed in Israel. My other elder brother, Philip, is a gay pastor if that is an anomaly in itself,” he said, noting his other brother was an AWB member who was working on ships in the Mediterranean;

  • Liebenberg claimed he is a direct descendant of Krotoa, the Khoi woman who was Jan van Riebeeck’s slave and worked as a translator for him. “With that link between me and the Khoisan, I can feel it every day,” he testified; and

  • Liebenberg said that in 1986, he sold his Milky Lane store for a substantial profit and went to work as a municipal housing legal clerk. “I resigned in spectacular fashion in June 1987 after I developed a certain need to go to the toilet on the table of the town secretary.”


Liebenberg married Desiree in October 2022 but before that, he was in a relationship with Kleynhans.

“Kleynhans and my wife were in a relationship with me and because we are biblical people and, in a sense, a bit traditional, it is a question of my word counts, and I say what I want to achieve and they follow,” he told the court.

He complained that Kleynhans was released on bail while Desiree was denied bail last week.

“I do not understand the disparity because as far as I understand there is a Constitution. We have the right to freedom. So my wife definitely has the right to freedom and unfortunately, the reason is that her attorney did not apply his mind,” he explained.

Liebenberg defended his wife, saying she acted as his proxy regarding the claims against her. DM

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