Govt threatens investor

COURT: CLAIMS INCLUDE POSSESSION OF FRAUDULENT RESIDENCE PERMIT

- Ciaran Ryan

Multimillionaire and former Wall Street investment banker Karl "Lars" Magnusson has hauled a string of government officials, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, to court after he and his family were threatened with arrest and deportation on claims they are in possession of fraudulent residence permits and visas.

Swedish-born Magnusson said he is innocent of any wrongdoing. His lawyers said he was the victim of a shakedown by senior government officials, and that there is no other way to explain how he went from persona non grata to presidential adviser in a few short years, and back to persona non grata when the officials had no further use for him.

Like many overseas investors, Magnusson had made several trips to South Africa over the years and liked the look of the place, especially Cape Town. In 2012 he decided to relocate to SA, along with his wife and two daughters.

Once in SA, he launched a number of new business ventures. He invested R25 million into the country and currently employs 45 people, according to papers before the court.

But he had much bigger plans than that, including a smart city which would showcase SA's technological prowess to the rest of the world. That plan, if implemented, would attract potentially billions in investment and employ thousands. So what happened that he and his family are now under threat of arrest and deportation?

Magnusson cultivated contacts at the highest level of government and had been raising funds in support of President Cyril Ramaphosa's campaign to convince the world we are worthy of their investments. He would, one would imagine, easily qualify for permanent residence based on his investment in SA and the businesses he created here.

Diplomacy challenge New Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber may want to wrap his wits around this one if he wants to succeed in his campaign to attract investment and skills to SA.