Phala Phala: Could the Real Scandal Be Counterfeit Dollars?

By Noko Maleka – Insight Jozi News

When the Phala Phala scandal first broke, it was painted simply as a burglary gone wrong — millions of dollars allegedly stuffed in furniture, stolen, and then covered up. But as South Africans, have we asked ourselves whether the bigger crime may have been overlooked?

The more one examines the details, the more troubling questions emerge.

Take, for example, the so-called “buffalo buyer,” Hazim Mustafa, who told the world he arrived with large sums of US dollars to purchase game from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s farm. Even the most seasoned businesspeople will tell you: withdrawing such vast amounts of cash, in hard foreign currency, in one go, is nearly impossible under normal banking rules. Banks monitor large transactions, regulators flag suspicious withdrawals, and even billionaires move money electronically. So how then did one individual walk around with bags of dollars — unless those dollars were manufactured elsewhere?

SARS itself confirmed in January 2024 that it had opened a criminal case involving this very buyer, linked to suspicions of false dollar declarations. That in itself suggests investigators were concerned not only about undeclared cash, but possibly about counterfeit currency circulating in the system. If that line of inquiry exists, has it been pursued to its full conclusion? Or has the public been left with a partial story that masks a deeper financial crime syndicate?

The danger here is far bigger than a farm scandal. If counterfeit US currency was smuggled into South Africa, exchanged under the cover of a livestock sale, and then hidden on presidential property, this points to organized networks that operate far beyond our borders. South Africa would then not only be facing questions of political accountability, but also of financial integrity on a global scale.

It is high time that authorities move past the surface of the Phala Phala story. The public deserves to know:

Were the dollars tested for authenticity?

If not, why not?

If yes, where are the forensic reports?

How exactly did an individual bypass international currency controls to carry such a fortune in cash?

Until these questions are answered, the suspicion will remain that the Phala Phala saga may not only be about undeclared foreign currency — it may also be about fake money in the hands of the highest office in the land.

For a nation struggling with trust in its institutions, nothing could be more dangerous than leaving such a possibility unexplored.

Insight Jozi News will continue to investigate