Ansell Energy is a Scam Fronting Legitimacy – But Everything Falls Short

Some scams spend a great deal of time trying to appear as a legitimate and above-board business.

They rent office space, get telephone numbers (VOIP or otherwise), and design semi-okay websites — all in an attempt to project a slick and compliant identity as the front to launch and perpetuate the scam. Such is the case with the Ansell Energy scam, operating from ansellenergy.com.

Ansell Energy bills itself as a company “at the forefront of the renewable energy revolution,” supposedly founded in 2005 by a certain “Mr L. Ansell.”

It claims to combine solar origins with battery technology to provide “sustainable, efficient power solutions.” According to its own words, it has transitioned into a “global leader in advanced battery systems,” with headquarters in Cape Town and Berlin.

As part of its supposed transparency, it links to what it calls its registration documents — a COR14.3 Company Registration Certificate and a SARS Income Tax Notice.

These are basic documents issued to every company upon registration and tax number allocation. They’re not hurdles, nor do they say anything about the legitimacy or compliance of a business. Yet, the scam uses these to give the impression that the company is above board.

The website also lists a telephone number and a Cape Town address. The number doesn’t connect, indicating it may have been disconnected or never properly set up. The address leads to a known office building in Century City.

We contacted the company that manages the property and confirmed that Ansell Energy only rented a virtual office in 2023. That rental was terminated in the same year due to non-payment.

So far, this polished identity doesn’t hold.

The same goes for the company’s standing with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). While technically still listed as registered, the company is currently undergoing the annual return deregistration process due to its failure to submit financial statements. It has also not filed the required beneficial ownership declaration. These are not optional. Any company that fails to do these things is non-compliant.

A registration certificate and tax number do not make a company legitimate. Submitting annual returns does. Paying VAT, UIF, the Compensation Fund — these do. Ansell Energy hasn’t done any of them.

The Investment Pitch

Beyond the website, Ansell Energy is being pushed aggressively on social media — mainly on Facebook and TikTok. The pitch is vague at first: a supposed green energy company offering a unique opportunity to invest in battery and solar technology. But as with most scams, the promises quickly become obvious: guaranteed returns, passive income, and bonuses.

On YouTube, an AI-narrated “corporate video” overlays stock footage with the scam’s pitch:

“Partner with us to shape the future of energy solutions. We offer a distinctive investment opportunity… Receive a guaranteed 70% return on investment, along with enticing incentives like recruitment bonuses, withdrawal bonuses, travel incentives and other amazing benefits.”

The accompanying investment tables shared on social media are absurd. An investment of R500 supposedly yields R12,072 in six months. R10,000 turns into R241,375. R30,000 becomes R724,127. And like all scams, they tell you it’s guaranteed.

It isn’t.

Germany as a Credibility Hook

The scam makes repeated references to Germany — not through any legal or operational documentation, but through vague association. Berlin is listed as a co-headquarters, and the founder’s name, “Mr L. Ansell,” is supposed to sound German.

We checked the German company register (Unternehmensregister). There is no company called Ansell Energy listed. A single “Ansell” entity does exist, but it is a recently registered company that has not submitted any financials and appears to have no connection to the scam. Nothing in the German registry supports the website’s claim of a Berlin presence.

The Founder Problem

The director listed for Ansell Energy is Lionel Ernest Ansell, a real South African individual. He is almost 79 years old. The image used in promotional material and on the website — which supposedly shows him — doesn’t match someone of that age. It raises questions.

It could be identity theft, which is not uncommon in scams like these. We’ve seen scams where random individuals are paid to register companies, or have their names and IDs used without their knowledge. It may be a personal bias, but it’s unusual to see people in their late seventies orchestrating multi-platform digital pyramid schemes.

No FSCA Registration

Given the investment-like structure, guaranteed returns, and deposit-taking nature of the scheme, we checked with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). As expected, Ansell Energy is not a registered Financial Services Provider. It has no legal standing to accept deposits, promise returns, or manage funds. It is operating completely outside the financial laws of South Africa.

The Domain and the Cloak of Privacy

The website, ansellenergy.com, was created on 22 January 2024, using GoDaddy. Whois records show the registrant’s details are private. This is not unusual. ICANN and registrars like GoDaddy allow domain privacy for legitimate reasons. Redaction of names, surnames and addresses is common practice and not, in itself, a sign of wrongdoing.

But in the context of a scam, privacy becomes a shield. It makes takedowns harder and gives cover to those hiding behind the front.

The Final Verdict

Ansell Energy is not a green energy company. It is not a dual-headquartered clean-tech enterprise. It is not a battery technology innovator. And it’s not a registered financial service provider.
It’s a scam. And not even a particularly clever one.

The website is polished enough to fool the casual eye. The documents are real — but meaningless in context. The office was rented, and then unpaid. The phone line doesn’t work. The FSCA has no record. The CIPC is in the process of deregistering Ansell Energy. The German link is fiction. The returns are laughable. And the founder photo doesn’t add up.

Behind the front is nothing. No clients. No operations. No actual product manufacturing — and what’s being pushed on social media appears to be white-labelled Chinese products at best. Just a recruitment funnel to extract deposits, dressed up with the right buzzwords and enough digital gloss to delay suspicion.

If someone asks you to “invest” in Ansell Energy, or you come across social media posts promising 70% guaranteed returns for supporting green energy tech — don’t engage. Don’t deposit. Don’t share.

Ansell Energy is a scam fronting legitimacy – and everything falls short.
We looked. Now you know.