Following his arrest in late May and subsequent release on bail earlier this week, further details of Neil Leon De Waal’s criminal case have emerged.

A June 6th report from Netwerk 24’s Jana van der Merwe provides insight from De Waal’s Monday bail hearing.

Van der Merwe was in court during the Monday bail hearing, which De Waal is reported to have cried through.

De Waal, who mostly sat with his head down and appeared visibly emotional and emaciated during his ten days in custody, often shook his head in denial.

None of his glamorous designer clothes, which he likes to flaunt on social media, were evident in court. He appeared in a black sweater, navy blue trousers, and an older jacket.

On the specifics of De Waal’s case, South African authorities purportedly began investigating following a complaint from one of De Waal’s victims.

The court heard that the complainant in the case, who lives in Benoni, had to hire a private investigator in Cape Town to help her track down De Waal. According to the state, the warrant for his arrest was issued as early as December.

Reading between the lines and factoring in what we already know from court filings; it appears De Waal recruited a new GSPartner investor as part of local recruitment efforts in May 2023 (specifically on or around May 30th).

GSPartners collapsed in late December 2023, resulting in widespread losses. The exact timeline here gets murky by we do know De Waal’s arrest warrant was issued on December 15th.

This suggests De Waal’s victim filed a complaint prior to GSPartners collapsing. US and Canadian GSPartners investors were screwed out of their money in December 2023 and February 2024 respectively. It’s possible investors in South Africa were taken advantage of earlier, prompting the complaint.

Alternatively it could just have been a reaction to the avalanche of GSPartners fraud warnings that were issued by authorities in 2023. Among them was South Africa’s FSCA in late November 2023.

Almost two dozen fraud warnings from multiple countries would have been more than enough to prompt a GSPartners refund request.

One thing that remains unclear is why it took six months to apprehend De Waal after his arrest warrant was issued. His victim having to hire a private investigator suggests De Waal might have been in hiding.

In any event, De Waal was arrested on or around May 28th, 2024. Authorities picked up De Waal at a South African airport, after he disembarked from a flight inbound from Bali, Indonesia.

In defending his promotion of a fraudulent investment scheme, De Waal’s lawyers diminished investor losses by claiming

someone is just “displeased with some sort of investments and returns.”

His legal team stated that he will deny any charges against him and that he will “prove his innocence.”

De Waal’s attorneys argued that if he wasn’t granted bail, his elderly dependant father would be left unattended. The court granted De Waal bail on condition he surrender his passport and report to local police twice a week.

Tears streamed down De Waal’s face when the magistrate made the decision.

Netwerk24 reached out to De Waal’s attorneys but they did not want to provide their names or comment on the case.

Looking forward and assuming he doesn’t flee South Africa, De Waal is scheduled to appear before the court again on June 25th.

Netwerk24 has confirmed “there are currently two additional cases against De Waal pending in Cape Town.”

This brings the total number of known GSPartners related fraud cases in South Africa to three. Specifics and the scope of the other two cases is not known at this time.

De Waal’s co-conspirators, his immediate upline Brendon Earp-Jones and Andrew Eaton, have gone underground following news of his arrest.

Neither GSPartners or owner Josip Heit have publicly addressed the FSCA’s fraud warning or De Waal’s arrest.