SA pilots held hostage in Kinshasa after aviation CEO dupes DRC government

JOHANNESBURG - Two South African pilots were held hostage for a week in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after a South African high-flying, horse jumping enthusiast and aviation businessman, Jonathan Wolpe, allegedly stole millions from the DRC government and a company contracted to it.

The ordeal took place after a deal between Wolpe, the CEO of United Aviation Group, and a company contracted to do presidential election work for the DRC in December, Energia, turned sour.

Wolpe allegedly defrauded several stakeholders and made off with millions of rands.

Collateral damage owed to Wolpe’s greed came in the form of two South African pilots, who were held hostage for several days in the country’s capital of Kinshasa.

Taunted by a fiery general with jail time and even death, demands were made for Wolpe to return the $60,000 (R1,100,706) deposit he owed the DRC government.

‘A BIT HOSTILE’
 
Speaking to Eyewitness News, one of the pilots, Tim Stark, said he was instructed not to fly for the presidential inauguration because Wolpe had not paid the company he was contracted to.  

“Jonathan would forge proof of payments, quite badly, and he just kept doing this, which obviously caused tension and was winding up the client, who started getting a bit hostile.”

Stark said due to heightened tensions, they were left with no choice but to continue with the work. However, shortly after doing so, their choppers were seized by the military and they were held hostage, not being able to leave their hotel until Wolpe refunded the deposit owed to the DRC government. 

“My total pack, which is a fuel bladder, that I need to ferry the machine back to its location had been drained; they had removed the fuel out of it. So, there was no way we were leaving. We had no fuel to move the machines anywhere.”

The other pilot Stark was with, who preferred to remain anonymous, said the escalating situation resulted in him suffering a heart attack.

“I had to be rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack in Kinshasa. I was in hospital for two days, and I think that’s when the DRC government realised that this had gone too far.”

Shortly afterwards, the pilots were allowed to leave - having spent more than a month in the DRC.

Wolpe even submitted a fake proof of payment to the company which brokered the deal, ZAS Aviation, Transport and Logistics.

All the proof of payments were verified by the relevant banks to have been fake. 

WHERE’S THE MONEY?

However, Wolpe claims otherwise.

In a leaked recording with a person acting on behalf of ZAS Aviation, Transport and Logistics, Wolpe says: “It’s a perfectly legitimate payment. There needs to be the capital behind it. If the funds are in the account, it will clear. There is nothing wrong with the payment, but it needs the funds. If the money’s not available, it’s not available, it doesn’t make it illegal.”

It’s been more than seven months, and Wolpe has yet to pay back the money owed to all service providers - despite continuing to live his lavish lifestyle and host champagne-popping events and parties.

Now, Wolpe is being probed for fraud by the Hawks in Gauteng, owing ZAS Aviation, Transport and Logistics $150,000 (R2,751,775.50), of which $60,000 is owed to the DRC government.

Police in KwaZulu-Natal are also probing Wolpe for fraud, as he owes R3.1 million to the company Stark flew for.

Company records show that Wolpe is an active director in 15 companies, many of which are aviation companies, with the exception of Summit Club Equestrian.

Summit is Wolpe’s horse jumping company, which is behind the United Aviation Group SA Derby, an annual luxuriant event held in Johannesburg.

Eyewitness News understands the United Aviation Group’s hangar at Lanseria International Airport was recently attached by the sheriff.

According to sources in the aviation business, Wolpe has a bad reputation of defaulting on payments.

And it’s not just locally. 

FRAUD ON A GLOBAL SCALE

Artem Degtiarov, the founder and chief editor of a Ukrainian-based company, Blacklist.Aero - a registry which lists defaulting aviation companies - said Wolpe was known for his unscrupulous business methods. 

Wolpe allegedly owes a United Arab Emirates-based company, Arrow Avia, $250,000 (R4,586,292.50), which hasn’t been paid for two years.

Degtriarov said he laid several complaints with the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) regarding Wolpe.

Detailed questions were emailed and sent to Wolpe on WhatsApp.

Despite reading the questions, Wolpe did not respond to any of the allegations levelled against him - which included hosting a lavish party while the pilots were being held hostage in the DRC.