"Chris Walker breaks the silence
Defencex mastermind: SARB thinks I'm the biggest criminal in SA.
JOHANNESBURG Chris Walker, the mastermind behind the R800m Defencex scheme has likened the insurance
industry and the banks to Ponzi schemes, while admitting that his battles with the Reserve Bank (SARB) could never
have been won.
He also claims not to have profited from his embattled business and suggests that the accounts linked to NetIncome
Solutions were frozen to protect the profit seeking interests of the banks and to allow liquidators and attorneys a slice
of the R349m pie.
This was revealed in extensive discussions with Moneyweb which ranged from the new schemes and training seminars
being promoted by Walker, to his views on Defencex.
Despite repeated attempts by Moneyweb to contact Walker he has thus far never spoken to the media about his
controversial scheme or his court battles.
I approached Walker as an interested investor in the network marketing scheme MyFunLife (MFL).
Walker has been promoting the scheme, which bears a close resemblance to a classical pyramid scheme, through his
blog www.wealth4africa.com.
After registering to join MFL through Wealth4Africa, I received an email from Walker inviting me to call should I have
any questions.
So I did.
On network marketing
Q: The amounts that MFL suggest can be made are huge, is this offer not a little too good to be true?
Walker: 'You have to work hard, it won't just happen if you don't do anything . . . if you want to earn money you are
going to have to refer people and grow a team and in that way it is not too good to be true because it takes a lot of
effort.
"Theoretically it is very easy but it is a matter of finding the right people . . . it's not like you are going to go out there
and find hundreds of people immediately because most people are sceptical and . . . think it is too good to be true but
it is not because you actually have to work.'
He later added that 'I have been doing it (network marketing) for 13 years and I still find it difficult (to train people) to
go out there and create a team that works.'
Page 212 of [2016] 3 All SA 193 (GJ)
'People that join through me usually know what to do . . . they are people that know me and that trust me and that do
it full time, some of them have made more money than me . . . this is how they make their money.'
However, Walker warned that network marketing 'is not fun' and he would not advise it as a business venture for
'beginners.'
Q: MFL seems very similar to a pyramid scheme. There seems to be a fine line between a pyramid and a Network
Marketing Scheme (NMS)?
Walker: 'there is no such thing (as a pyramid) . . . Clientele life is an SA company that has been going for years; it
works exactly the same way (as a NMS or pyramid) except their product is insurance . . . you pay a monthly fee and
then you earn down the line from other people paying insurance.
'To my mind insurance is a scam . . . they take one person's money to pay another person . . . the banks are the
same, there is no difference.
'But that is just my take on it.'
Q: To me it seems like a pyramid, so if I get in early can I make more money?
Walker: 'It does not matter how young the company is. You can go and join a company that is ten years old and still
make money. It is a matter of what you do . . . that is why I am in the business of trying to open help and support
centres for my members so that if they find people to introduce to the scheme we can show them what to do.'
He added that 'the market I deal with is mostly black . . . I like to deal with them because they are not sceptical, they
are open and they understand sharing . . .'
Q: Did you target the poorer communities because they would be less sceptical?
Walker: 'No, no, no. I don't go anywhere and talk to people, I just have a website and people trust me and if they
know me they will join . . . I don't specifically deal with poor people.
'It is not about that, I am not interested in trying to convince people to join, it is their choice . . . they go onto the
website and they join so it is really up to them.'
On Kipi
Q: I had initially been interested in Kipi, how does that work?
Walker: 'With Kipi it is a matter of showing people how to do it . . . it works like a stokvel. Stokvels are legal in SA
. . . you don't pay to Kipi or to a bank account its people helping others out.'
Q: Stokvels don't generate profits, is it the same then with Kipi?
Walker: 'No you can (make a profit), it depends on if you introduce people and if you want your dream to be fulfilled
it depends how much you put towards it . . . it is terrific, it has been working for years.'