Ongoing

  1. ElectionsHot
  2. US mid-termsHeating up
  3. AICooling
NewsbriefSouth Africa, briefly.
JoburgJHB29°16°CTCT30°17°PretoriaPTA31°17°DurbanDBN27°64%

VAST AI investment scheme collapses, leaving members unable to withdraw

Published Last updated

Ongoing: AI Cooling

The scheme recruited South Africans on TikTok, Facebook and Telegram with promises of profit from renting out AI chips. It went offline on Friday 30 October after withdrawals marked approved did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

The investigation found that VAST AI never rented out anything and that its list of verified withdrawals was fake. The finding came from an analysis of the platform's code. The scheme's pitch promised to turn R50 000 into R350 000 in two days.

Products cost from R100 for two days to R40 000 for 400 days. At the top VIP10 level, the scheme promised a salary of R300 000 a month. VAST's Telegram channel had 16 400 subscribers.

The operators told members they faced a financial audit. They said the "National Treasury of South Africa" told them to withhold funds for Personal Income Tax. Quentin Peason, named as a manager of a WhatsApp group called AI Working Group, blamed a compliance review and delays in cross-border settlement. He promised 10 times compensation.

A journalist who investigated the scheme said the payment gateway appears to be Chinese-operated and illicit. The journalist also said the platform looks like a reusable system built in Chinese for many countries. It may be run by a syndicate like Morita Forestry, an earlier scheme that used similar tactics.

Key facts

Who
VAST AI (investment scheme that collapsed; described by GroundUp as a scam); GroundUp (news outlet that investigated the scheme); Morita Forestry (earlier scheme GroundUp reported on, which the article says used similar tactics); Quentin Peason (named as a manager in a WhatsApp group 'AI Working Group' that blamed a…)
What
GroundUp reports that VAST AI, which recruited South Africans via TikTok, Facebook and Telegram with promises of GPU rental profits and salaries, went offline on Friday 30 October after withdrawals marked approved failed to arrive. GroundUp describes the platform as fake, with members losing their balances and pending withdrawals.
When
30 October 2026
Where
South Africa, Colorado, Denver
Status
Reported

Related stories

Elections Hot

What you need to know

Voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections is under way at 23,696 stations, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported a smooth start on 4 November. Stations opened at 7am and close at 9pm, and by 10am preliminary figures showed 3,523,691 voters had cast ballots.

There were problems: unused ballot papers were stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Durban, police opened a case, and the IEC relieved the station staff of duty. Some voters in Tshwane said they were turned away for wearing party shirts, but the IEC denied this and said only mayoral candidates' entourages were barred.

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe told members not to query the results or discredit the IEC, while the IEC said false online claims show routine procedures as fraud.

  1. IEC dismisses MK Party worry about dead people on voters' roll
  2. IEC says local election voting went largely smoothly
  3. IEC says about 12 million had voted by 5pm

See every update

US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

Democrats won back both the US House and Senate in the midterm elections held on 3 November, according to media projections. Exit polls showed voters were angry about high prices and the direction of the country, and rebuked President Donald Trump.

Before the vote, US forces struck targets on Qeshm Island in Iran, while Republicans struggled to defend the war against Iran on the campaign trail. Iranian officials said US voters rejected the war, and Tehran stayed on high alert for possible new US strikes.

Markets reacted, with the dollar hitting a one-month low and the rand firming to around R16.55, as analysts pointed to fears of gridlock in Washington.

  1. Iran welcomes Democratic wins in US midterm elections
  2. Democrats win US Congress in midterm vote, projections show
  3. Ramaphosa wants US trade deal after AGOA suspension

See every update

AI Cooling

What you need to know

Nvidia has told its cloud computing clients to sell at least 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic said it has committed to spend close to $900bn on AI infrastructure, and that its computing costs are rising faster than its revenues.

Elsewhere, reports from unnamed sources say OpenAI's latest funding round is falling short of expectations, and a judge let the NAACP pollution case against xAI proceed. In South Africa, the VAST AI investment scheme went offline on 30 October after withdrawals marked approved did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

  1. Accenture faces accusations over AI report with false citations
  2. CrowdStrike to buy two AI security startups
  3. Google lets schools turn off AI tools but limits Search

See every update