Alleged holiday swindler Francois Swart arrested and granted bail

The law has finally caught up with travel agency boss Francois Swart, months after criminal complaints were filed against him. Swart made his first appearance in the Modimolle Magistrates Court on 28 December when he was granted bail. Although the conditions of his release on bail have not yet been established, AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit is satisfied that the legal process to hold him accountable for his alleged offences is underway.

Swart is the managing director of travel agency Priority Escapes and is alleged to have defrauded many would-be holiday-makers of hundreds of thousands of rand. The unit represents two complainants who filed a criminal complaint against Swart at the Modimolle Police Station in August last year. The arrest warrant was issued in early December, following the intervention of the unit.

In the letter to the SAPS in September, Adv. Gerrie Nel, head of the unit, set out the simplicity of the case. “The suspect received full payment from the complainants for him to fulfil holiday arrangements on their behalf. The misrepresentation was furthered when the suspect issued documents purporting that the holiday was arranged and paid in full. It has since been confirmed that the documents the complainants received are false,” said Nel.

Pamela-Anne Dolan and Bugs van Heerden say they are encouraged that the police have acted on their complaint. But, they have accepted that they will not recover the R130 000 they paid to Swart for a holiday that never materialised. “We aren’t doing this for ourselves, but for all the people who have lost money. We believe it is a cut-and-dry case. We were issued with travel vouchers to show that our holiday had been booked, when in fact there was no booking at all,” said Dolan.

The couple approached the unit when they were not provided with the investigating officer’s particulars nor engaged by the investigating officer. The unit wrote to the station commander expressing concern that a straightforward case of fraud had apparently been referred to the Hawks for investigation.

Following Swart’s appearance in court and what appears to be renewed commitment from the SAPS to pursue the case, the unit will closely monitor developments and provide support to the police and the NPA if called upon to do so.

Swart will appear in court again on 23 February.