Investors in Estcourt are knocking on all doors in their search for millions they invested with a local financial advisor.
At least 40 people in the small town of Estcourt in KwaZulu-Natal are desperately looking for their financial advisor amid allegations that investments that were supposed to be placed with financial institutions have gone missing. Rumours circulate among the town’s 32 000 residents that as much as R200 million could be involved.
Investors have been knocking on every possible door to try to find the owner of Wood & Boon Insurance Brokers, Rookshana Khan, or her daughter, Rubina Khan.
Their first stop was the financial advisor’s office, however, they usually found it deserted. The stream of worried investors then started knocking on the door of a financial advisor working in the same building.
The next stop was the local police station, but it had received so many complaints the would-be investors were allegedly turned away.
One investor laid a complaint with the Office of the Ombud for Financial Services Providers (Fais Ombud), saying that she had invested R500 000 in August 2024 with the goal of receiving a monthly income. The ombud replied that there was “insufficient information” to investigate the matter.
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No response
Wood & Boon is registered as a Financial Services Provider (FSP) with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) – and Khan is listed as the key individual, compliance officer and one of the registered representatives. Her daughter is also listed as a representative.
The investor received only two payments of R5 500 each, then nothing. She has been unable to get hold of Khan since August 2024 and still wants to know where her money is.
The Fais Ombud said in its response to the complaint that there is no evidence that Khan had invested the money in a regulated financial product and the matter is outside of its authority. “There is nothing to suggest that the respondent provided you with a financial service in respect of a recognised financial product as defined in the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (Fais) Act to empower this office with the required jurisdiction to access and dispose of this complaint,” it said. It noted that the documents apparently show that the investor agreed to invest with Khan directly.
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Subject to police investigation
The ombud also says it could not assist as it was unable to reach the Wood & Boon office nor any of its representatives.
“The respondent has, to date, not responded to your complaint despite the six-week period in terms of our rules having passed. The respondent has, however, responded to a few other complaints through her lawyers, Van Rooyen Attorneys Inc.
“In their letter, the representative of the respondent mentions that they act on behalf of Wood and Boon Insurance Brokers CC and Mrs R Khan. Mrs Khan is currently admitted to the hospital, and they are unable to obtain detailed instructions.
“In their response to this office, they mention that the current matter is the subject of a police investigation and, as such, their client would prefer not to respond to the complaint while the investigations are ongoing.
“In circumstances such as these, where there is no further information available and the respondent is not cooperating in providing the information, this Office is unable to take the matter further,” the Fais Ombud says.
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Don’t ask …
On 16 January 2025, Khan’s lawyers addressed a letter to “Wood & Boon Investors” in which the lawyer, Ig van Rooyen, tells investors not to contact his clients asking about their investments, hinting at legal repercussions should they do so.
“We act on instructions of Mrs. R Khan. It is our instructions that investment clients of Wood & Boon Insurance Brokers CC are attempting to contact our client and her daughter directly regarding the status of their investments.
“Please note that this matter is subject to Police investigations and all investors are regarded as potential State witnesses. Communications between our client and investors may therefore be regarded as interference with State witnesses, either directly or indirectly. Our client therefore kindly requests that all attempts at communications with her or her family be stopped immediately,” wrote Van Rooyen.
He said his client is cooperating with the authorities and has not left South Africa as some investors have claimed.
Van Rooyen confirmed that he is still acting for Khan, but that he could not supply a telephone number on which she could be reached.
The fact that the police as well as financial authorities are turning people away – and a legal letter that seems threatening – has fuelled rumours that Khan is being “protected”, according to one disappointed investor.
Read the letter from Van Rooyen Attorneys Inc, as supplied by the Fais Ombud.
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Wood & Boon still registered with FSCA
While the Fais Ombud promised to forward the complaint to the FSCA for investigation, the FSCA was unaware of the allegations against the broker when asked for comment this week.
Gerhard van Deventer, divisional executive of the FSCA’s enforcement department, says Wood & Boon is still registered with the FSCA as an authorised Category I FSP.
This allows the brokerage to give advice and act as intermediary for long and short term insurance and investment products. It can also give advice and sell authorised retail pension fund products and regulated collective investment products, such as unit trusts.
Van Deventer says that, according to FSCA records, the brokerage and its representatives are in good standing with the FSCA, but it will immediately investigate. “The FSCA has not received any complaints against the FSP or its key individual, Mrs R. Khan,” he says.
The FSCA says that its rules and regulations require that contact information on record for key individuals and compliance officers must be correct at all times.
“This forms part of the operational ability requirements that FSPs are obligated to comply with,” says Van Deventer.
This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
