Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
"A grand scam : social networks, trust and the Krion Ponzi scheme"
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025.
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2025
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867613875036225536 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Davids, Gita Angelica |
| author2 | Visser, Wessel |
| author_browse | Davids, Gita Angelica Visser, Wessel |
| author_facet | Visser, Wessel Davids, Gita Angelica |
| author_sort | Davids, Gita Angelica |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132158 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:43:05.531Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132158 "A grand scam : social networks, trust and the Krion Ponzi scheme" Davids, Gita Angelica Visser, Wessel Visser, Wessel (Wessel Pretorius), 1957- Van Wyk, Ilana Van Wyk, Ilana, 1977- Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of History. Ponzi schemes -- Vaal Triangle (South Africa) Fraud -- Sociological aspects Afrikaners -- Economic conditions Afrikaners -- Social networks -- Influence Swindlers and swindling -- South Africa UCTD Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. Davids, G. A. 2025. “A Grand Scam: Social networks, trust and the Krion Ponzi scheme”. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/4e65c554-25d3-46eb-9e58-e3d4c551c688 ENGLISH ABSTRACT: From March 1998 until 2002, Marietjie Prinsloo and her family operated what became known as the Krion Ponzi scheme. The scheme targeted blue-collar workers in the Vaal Triangle, the majority of whom were Afrikaners and former South African Iron and Steel Industrial Corporation (ISCOR) employees whose economic fortunes had dwindled after apartheid. When the scheme collapsed, investors lost R1.5 billion. This was one of the biggest financial frauds in South African history. Perhaps not surprisingly, the various court cases involving the Krion scheme generated considerable public and media attention. Drawing on interviews with former Krion investors, transcriptions of court proceedings, and media archives of reporting on the scheme, this thesis focuses on the ways in which the media and courts framed the scheme, its operators, and its investors against the ways in which former investors explained their involvement and understanding of the scheme. Thus, the media and the courts framed the scheme’s operators as a crime cartel with Marietjie Prinsloo as its “Godmother”, pointed at various tell-tale signs in the lead-up to its collapse that the scheme was illegitimate, and blamed investors for being greedy and financially naïve. A considerable amount of reporting focused on the Afrikaner-ness of investors and suggested that they, like the “poor whites” of the 1920s, were blinded by authority, group loyalty and the persuasiveness of fellow Afrikaners who did not hesitate to defraud their own. Contradicting these depictions, interviews with investors showed that they made financial decisions based on their membership to social networks of kinship, friendship, work and religion. It was the evidence of people in their social networks’ success and their trust in these people’s motives, rather than Marietjie Prinsloo and her family’s persuasiveness, that convinced most investors to put money into Krion. This study also shows that the boundary between fraud and legitimate economic activity is more fluid than much of the reporting on the scheme allowed. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Van Maart 1998 tot 2002 het Marietjie Prinsloo en haar familie ‘n bedrogskema, bekend as die Krion Ponzi-sekma, bedryf. Die bedrogskema het blouboordjiewerkers in die Vaal Driehoek geteiken. Die meeste van hulle was Afrikaners en voormalige werknemers van die SuidAfrikaanse Yster en Staalkorporasie (YSKOR) wie se ekonomiese welstand na die val van apartheid verskraal het. Toe die skema in duie gestort het, het beleggers R1.5 biljoen verloor. Dit was een van die grootste gevalle van finansiële bedrog in die Suid-Afrikaanse geskiedenis. Daarom was dit geen verbasing dat die verskeie hofsake wat op die ineenstorting van die Krionskema gevolg het aansienlike openbare en media-aandag ontlok het nie. Deur van onderhoude met voormalige Krion-beleggers, transkripsies en hofprosedures, asook media-argiewe wat oor die skema gerapporteer het gebruik te maak, fokus hierdie tesis op die wyse waardeur die media en die howe die skema, die operateurs en beleggers ontbloot het. Daar word ook gekyk na hoe voormalige beleggers hulle betrokkenheid by die skema verduidelik en verstaan het. Die media en die howe het die skema-operateurs ontbloot as ‘n kriminele kartel met Marietjie Prinsloo as ‘n soort “Peetmoeder” deur te wys op verskeie onreëlmatige leidraadtekens wat in die aanloop tot die val van die skema na vore gekom het en deur beleggers van gierigheid en finansiële naïwiteit te beskuldig. ‘n Wesenlike fokuspunt van die media was die Afrikanerskap van beleggers en die feit dat hulle, soos die armblankes van die 1920’s, deur figure met openbare aansien, groepslojaliteit en die oorredingsvermoë van mede-Afrikaners, wat nie gehuiwer het om hulle eie mense te bedrieg nie, verblind is. Daarteenoor het onderhoude met beleggers aan die lig gebring dat hulle finansiële besluite geneem het wat gebaseer was op hulle lidmaatskap van sosiale netwerke in familie-, werks- en godsdiensverband. Dit was die getuienis van mense in die sukses van hulle sosiale netwerke en hulle vertroue in hierdie persone se motiewe, eerder as Marietjie Prinsloo en haar familie se oorredingsvermoëns, wat die meeste beleggers ooruig het om hulle geld in Krion te belê. Hierdie studie wys daarop dat die grens tussen bedrog en wettige ekonomiese aktiwiteite meer vloeibaar is as wat vele van mediarapportering oor die Krion-skema geopenbaar het. Masters 2025-05-28T08:35:26Z 2025-05-28T08:35:26Z 2025-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132158 en Stellenbosch University xii, 143 pages : colour illustrations, includes annexures application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Ponzi schemes -- Vaal Triangle (South Africa) Fraud -- Sociological aspects Afrikaners -- Economic conditions Afrikaners -- Social networks -- Influence Swindlers and swindling -- South Africa UCTD Davids, Gita Angelica "A grand scam : social networks, trust and the Krion Ponzi scheme" |
| title | "A grand scam : social networks, trust and the Krion Ponzi scheme" |
| title_full | "A grand scam : social networks, trust and the Krion Ponzi scheme" |
| title_fullStr | "A grand scam : social networks, trust and the Krion Ponzi scheme" |
| title_full_unstemmed | "A grand scam : social networks, trust and the Krion Ponzi scheme" |
| title_short | "A grand scam : social networks, trust and the Krion Ponzi scheme" |
| title_sort | a grand scam social networks trust and the krion ponzi scheme |
| topic | Ponzi schemes -- Vaal Triangle (South Africa) Fraud -- Sociological aspects Afrikaners -- Economic conditions Afrikaners -- Social networks -- Influence Swindlers and swindling -- South Africa UCTD |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132158 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT davidsgitaangelica agrandscamsocialnetworkstrustandthekrionponzischeme |