Nonhlanhla Hadebe, a central figure in the TVI Express pyramid scheme, was arrested in South Africa on Tuesday. She faces over 10,000 charges alongside her husband, daughter, and son-in-law, related to an alleged R86 million ($8.6 million USD) fraud collected between March 2009 and September last year. The arrests mark a significant development in the South African Reserve Bank's long-running investigation.

TVI Express spread rapidly across southern Africa from 2011 to 2012, affecting a considerable portion of the region. The scheme operated until authorities intervened, bringing operations to a halt. The Reserve Bank had previously frozen assets of top TVI promoters and warned of imminent arrests, which now appear to be underway with Hadebe's apprehension.

Hadebe had her Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz vehicles seized in mid-2012, remaining a core focus of the Reserve Bank's inquiry. The Anti-Corruption Task Force conducted a dawn operation Tuesday. They apprehended Hadebe, her husband Jabulani Hadebe (47), her daughter Hlengiwe Ngidi (29), and son-in-law Sibusiso Ngidi (34). The group was charged with more than 10,000 counts involving investments in three separate schemes. All were denied bail and spent Tuesday night in Westville Prison.

When questioned after her assets were seized last year, Hadebe claimed she had "left TVI back in 2010 after learning of the involvement of 'unscrupulous individuals within TVI'."

She appeared before magistrate PM Govender in the Durban Commercial Crime Court on Tuesday. The charges include contravening the Banks Act by accepting nearly R86 million from "investors." Prosecutors allege these funds were collected through a pyramid scheme. The charge sheet presented to the magistrate detailed every deposit taken over the years, amounting to 10,000 individual transactions.

Hadebe and her husband were also involved in mass-recruiting affiliates for TVI Express, often through religious marches. Siya Mhlongo, a presenter of a religious program at Igagasi 99.5 FM, led one such event that observers described as resembling a church festival. Celebrity pastors Sithembiso Zondo and Thomas Hadebe also participated, attracting audiences with banners promising "how to become a millionaire."

And Hadebe's involvement in pyramid schemes did not stop with TVI Express. Following her role as a ringleader for TVI Express South Africa, she allegedly started two more scams. One was Legend Venture, which offered membership in "worthless companies to be listed on the stock exchange" for sums between R5,000 and R35,000. The third scheme was Club Wealth Wheels, marketed as an Indian-based discount club for motor vehicles.