Well-known South African loses R4.2 million after 2 emails and one government gazette

Well-known Afrikaans author, publisher, and commentator, Dan Roodt, said the South African Reserve Bank confiscated R4.2 million from his organisation, Praag.

He added that all he received was an initial email stating that the money was frozen, followed by a notice that it had been confiscated. He now has to fight it in court.

On 20 May 2026, the South African Reserve Bank published a Notice of Forfeiture to the State of money in terms of the Currency and Exchanges Act.

The statement focuses on Regulation 22B of the Exchange Control Regulations (1961), promulgated under Section 9 of South Africa’s Currency and Exchanges Act, 1933.

This Act grants the National Treasury, and by delegation, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), the power to seize and forfeit assets to the State.

This Act is used when a person or entity is suspected on reasonable grounds of having contravened Exchange Control Regulations.

When this happens, the South African Reserve Bank can order that funds or goods be blocked and permanently forfeited.

For a forfeiture to become legally binding, the SARB must publish a Notice and Order of Forfeiture in the Government Gazette.

In recent years, Regulation 22B has frequently appeared in high-profile SARB asset seizures involving the unauthorised cross-border transfer of funds.

In a recent notice, the target was the Pro-Afrikaanse Aksie Groep (Praag), whose directors are Dan Roodt, Karin Roodt, and Carel van der Merwe.

The Deputy Governor of the Prudential Cluster at the South African Reserve Bank, Fundi Tshazibana, ordered the forfeiture to the state of a large amount of Praag’s money.

• R443,639.21 held with ABSA
• R10 574.18 held with ABSA
• R1,740,680.69 held with ABSA
• $121,303.80 (approximately R2 million) held with ABSA

“The money shall be disposed of by deposit thereof to the National Revenue Fund,” Tshazibana said in a statement.

Dan Roodt explains what happened

Roodt released a video in which he described the events and his financial loss resulting from the South African Reserve Bank’s actions.

He said that the Reserve Bank officially confiscated R4.2 million. However, because the funds had accumulated interest while frozen, the actual value lost was over R5 million.

Additionally, because a $10,000 transaction intended for an American company failed, he estimates his total financial loss is closer to R6 million.

Roodt said that the confiscation process was surprisingly simple and required very little effort from the authorities.

• He received an email stating that his accounts had been frozen under Regulation 22B of the Exchange Control Regulations.
• A few years later, the Reserve Bank published an official notice in the Government Gazette and sent a final email stating that the money had been officially forfeited to the state.

Roodt claimed that no explicit reasons or formal charges were ever presented to him. “The Reserve Bank acted purely on suspicion,” he said.

He insists that all his international financial transactions were processed through the banking system and approved by ABSA.

Roodt explained that he has 90 days from the publication date to legally challenge the forfeiture notice in court.

While he intends to fight it, he admits that taking on the Reserve Bank is risky, as it involves confronting an organisation with significant resources.

He referenced financial analyst Magnus Heystek, who challenged the Reserve Bank when something similar happened to him.

He won the first round. However, the Reserve Bank appealed the ruling and employed numerous senior advocates to fight their case. Heystek lost the appeal.