If the home to the financial trade of the country is disassociating itself with Ref Wayne, how then can he be trusted?
MODIRI MOGENDE
Gold Bentley Continental GT with 20-inch alloy wheels, same shine on an Aston Martin DB9 roaring through the streets of Gaborone. That was the treat of one Ref Wayne when he recently paid the capital city a courtesy visit to present his credentials ‘for free’. South Africa’s self-professed richest young person (early 20s), real name, Refilwe Nkele is an alleged forex trade expert through his African FX Institute. He does forex trade with Pipcoin, an alleged Crypto Currency.
According to media reports, Ref Wayne had a crowd of over 500 eating out the palm of his hands as he promised them unimaginable dreams, dreams of driving gold coated supercars at the GICC. The allure to be in your early 20s and have the freedom to own million pula cars is tough for anyone to resist, especially in a country that has dim employment and income prospects for people in that age bracket. His preaching is that of wealth creation, direct route from poverty to instant riches. It is all great and largely inspirational until one tries to figure how exactly Ref Wayne makes his R100 000 a day playing forex. He has said through his website and previous media interviews that his counsel gives traders skills to beat the market, including international banks with experts studied in currency shifts.
While here, Ref Wayne appeared to prop his credentials by associating himself to the Botswana Stock Exchange, an association later denied by the bourse in a statement to the public.
“It has come to our attention that a Facebook page under the name Ref Wayne – Pipcoin is using the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) logo for promotional purposes and through this press release, we set the record straight. The use of the BSE logo is a misrepresentation of the existence of any relationship between the BSE and Ref Wayne – Pipcoin.” The BSE further warned that “The public is therefore cautioned against engaging with the company or the individuals behind the page under the pretext that there exists a relationship between the BSE and Ref Wayne – Pipcoin.”
If the home to the financial trade of the country is disassociating itself with Ref Wayne, how then can he be trusted? The sad reality is that, Ref Wayne and Pipcoin are not the first nor the last of the get rich quick schemes that claim legitimacy, that will swindle thousands in this country. He has a number of critics in his home country, South Africa, who have previously fallen victim to his charm and opulence only to be left without their hard earned monies. Vehemently, he has denied criticism that his was a ponzi scheme eyeing to bag people’s hard earned money without giving them back a cent of wealth.
There are some large scams and pyramid schemes that came and went with millions of pulas by desperate and unsuspecting Batswana. Two of the most prominent are Stock Market Direct and Eurex Trade. These two schemes were probably the largest single scams to hit this country. People lined up at Stock Market Direct offices in Gaborone to set up accounts as they were promised 50% growth rates in a single month by trading directly in large stock exchanges such the NYSE and JSE.
Eurex Trade was another scam, a Ponzi scheme that promised major investment returns. Their strategy was to attract prominent members of the society to be a part of the scam thus enforcing credibility to the rest of the public. Many people invested hundreds of thousands into the scheme only for it to disappear after a few months. Consumer advocacy group, Consumer Watchdog at the time rang warning signs against both these schemes, however the allure of wealth was too strong to resist for many. The Eurex Scheme issue was even brought up in parliament, and the Minister of Finance and Economic Development Kenneth Matambo insisted that there was nothing government could do about most of these schemes as they are usually foreign based and operating through offshore accounts thus beyond regulation.
It is clear that after Ref Wayne and his showboating, there will be hundreds if not thousands signing to Pipcoin with desire of making 90% a month on forex trading. Unfortunately, once again there will be victims crying wolf, despite the many tell-tale signs of a scam.