A 55 year old man, Mohamed Hanief Aboo has appeared before the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday, 28 May 2025 following his arrest after handing himself over to authorities on the same day for fraud and money laundering.
According to the National Hawks Spokesperson Warrant Officer Thatohatsi Mavimbela his
arrest pertains to a case that was registered at Hillbrow police station in June 2023.
Mohamed Aboo and four others, Marwan Aly Mohamed, Mohamed Ahmed Zakaria Badr Mohamed, Percival Clement Wekeyo and Busisiwe Norah Gumbi all allegedly colluded to fraudulently claim a death benefit of R4.4 million from Liberty Life Insurance, posing as a syndicate.
This fraudulent activity was brought to the attention of the South African Insurance Crime Bureau (IBC) by Hollard Insurance, which suffered an actual loss of R4.4 million and faced a potential loss of R15 million.
The case traces back to 16 January 2023, when Hollard Insurance requested IBC to verify the death claim of Mr. Wagdi Youseff Zaki. It was reported that the claim had been submitted on 18 June 2021 for the apparent death of Mr. Zaki on 9 April 2021. Upon investigation, it was found that Liberty Life had processed a death benefit pay out for Mr. Zaki in the amount of R4.4 million, which was then distributed to various bank accounts.
Four of the suspects were arrested in April 2025 and were granted bail of R15 000 each.
National Hawks Spokesperson Warrant Officer Thatohatsi Mavimbela
that on Wednesday, 28 May 2025 Mohamed Aboo made his first appearance before the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court where he was granted bail of R15 000 and the matter has been postponed to 26 June 2025 where all suspects are due to appear.
The Provincial Head of the Hawks in Gauteng has commended the investigating team for the continuous progress made on this ongoing investigation.