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- German fraudster Jurgen Harksen, who was extradited from South Africa several years ago, has died.
- Harksen swindled investors out of millions and used the funds to live a lavish lifestyle in Cape Town before his arrest.
- He was also implicated in a controversial DA donation scandal.
Convicted German fraudster Jurgen Harksen has reportedly died at the age of 63.
Harksen became notorious for swindling investors out of millions of rand while he lived the high life in Cape Town in the 80s and 90s. After serving a sentence in Germany, he moved to Palma de Mallorca.
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According to the German publication Der Spiegel, his death was confirmed by his lawyer, Gerhard Strate, on Wednesday. His death was also reported in the Hamburger Abendblatt and Bild.
In 2003, Harksen was sentenced to several years in prison in Hamburg for fraud. Prior to his arrest and sentencing, he had fled to South Africa, where he managed to evade justice for almost a decade. He consented to return to Germany in 2002, after a protracted battle against his extradition.
He was accused of defrauding at least 70 people out of R327 million in an investment scam, News24 previously reported.
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Harksen was also at the centre of a DA scandal. Former provincial leader Gerald Morkel was investigated after allegations that he had accepted donations from Harksen.
Harksen told the Desai Commission, which was set up to probe the donation, that he had channelled more than R1 million to the party through Morkel and former finance MEC Leon Markovitz.
Morkel, who died in 2018, denied that he had taken money from Harksen.
