Arrest Warrant Issued for Alleged S. African Ponzi Schemer

November 1, 2009

Sydney, Australia
JTA Wire Service

An arrest warrant was issued for a Jewish South African businessman who is alleged to have duped investors in a Ponzi scheme.

Barry Tannenbaum is alleged to have defrauded investors out of $1.61 billion.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said in parliament in Cape Town Tuesday that a warrant had been issued for Tannenbaum, who is believed to be living in Australia, as well as for his South African lawyer, Dean Rees.

Tannenbaum, 43, is believed to have enticed nearly 800 investors—many of them allegedly Jews from South Africa, Britain, Israel and Australia—with promises of returns of up to 200 percent.

His assets in South Africa have been frozen by a local court and the National Prosecuting Authority has started proceedings to extradite him, Business Day reported Wednesday.

In June, when the scandal was revealed, Tannenbaum categorically denied it as “wild allegations, conjecture and speculation.” He did not reply to an e-mailed request from Bloomberg news service for comment on the arrest warrant.

A spokesman for the South African task force set up in the wake of the scandal said Interpol could arrest the pair “no matter where they are in the world,” according to South African media.

Lay Off Iran’s Nukes, Turkish Leader Says

Turkey’s prime minister called on Western countries to stop pressuring Iran to abandon its nuclear program.

“Those who are chanting for global nuclear disarmament should first start in their own countries,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday, according to The New York Times, during a meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as part of a two-day official visit to Iran.

Erdogan called for the expansion of his country’s ties with the Islamic Republic.

“Turkey is determined to enhance its brotherly relations with Iran,” he said, the Tehran Times reported.

Erdogan’s statements come two weeks after Turkey excluded Israel from a NATO military exercise it was hosting. The drill participants, led by the United States, refused to take part in the exercise, leading to its cancellation.

Israel-Turkey relations have grown tense since the Gaza war, with Turkey taking the lead in some international forums in demanding that Israel be held accountable for alleged war crimes. Turkey also is upset with Israel over the delay of delivery of military equipment that it purchased from the Jewish state.

Also this month, Israel’s Foreign Ministry summoned Turkey’s acting ambassador over a Turkish state television program that vilified Israel by showing Israeli soldiers shooting Palestinian children and mistreating elderly Arabs.

Billionaire Gaydamak Sentenced to Prison in France

A French court sentenced Israeli-Russian billionaire Arcady Gaydamak to six years in prison for illegal arms dealing.

Gaydamak, a businessman who owns the Israeli soccer team Beitar Jerusalem, was sentenced Tuesday for being involved in the deals in the 1990s.

A French and Israeli citizen, he left Israel for Moscow 10 months ago. France and Israel have an extradition treaty; Russia and France do not.

Gaydamak and a partner formed a company to sell $791 million dollars worth of illegal arms, including tanks, helicopters and a warship, to the Angolan government. The operation involved about 40 suspects, including French government officials and public figures.

This story reprinted courtesy of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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