Windhoek
Government is busy tightening the legal screws to ensure Namibia is no longer a safe haven for international fugitives fleeing justice in their own countries.
The Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Tjekero Tweya, said this on Tuesday when he held a briefing on cabinet decisions. He announced that Cabinet had approved an action plan to address relevant shortcomings ahead of an evaluation of the country’s anti-money laundering, and combatting the financing of terrorism and its proliferation, regulations. The evaluation is to be conducted in the next two years.
He stressed that Namibia “cannot be a safe haven for those who do wrong in other countries”.
“We will amend our laws to ensure that those who should enforce them are empowered to do so. If criminals from outside come here under the pretext that they came to invest here, we should have the means to filter them out,” he said.
A number of individuals wanted by law authorities in other countries – mostly European – such as Vito Palozollo, Hans Juergen Koch, Boris Bannai and Kobi Alexander, used Namibia as a safe haven in the last decade to flee the law in other countries. They all faced charges related to money laundering, fraud and tax evasion.
Tweya also said laws pertaining to freezing of assets will be reviewed.
He said government would dictate the types of laws to ensure that money laundering and terrorism are addressed.
“We do not want to be seen as a department of the USA who always want others to do things their way. Before terrorism hit them it was not such a big issue, but now that it affects them they want everyone else to do things their way,” he said.
The action plan includes, among others, streamlining the process to gazette administrative freezing orders to ensure the entire process to implement asset freeze is completed within 48 hours, regardless if it is a working day or not.
Also a complete review of the non-profit organization sector, as well as capacity building among judiciary and law enforcement agencies.
Insolvency Bill
Meanwhile, Cabinet has directed Attorney General Sacky Shanghala to arrange a presentation to Cabinet on the reform document of the country’s insolvency law.
“Cabinet directs the attorney general together with relevant stakeholders to use the reform document as a basis to initiate the Insolvency Bill for Namibia, in coordination with other SADC countries,” he said.
Shanghala is said to have introduced the issue of insolvency law, with specific emphasis on cross-border insolvency, at a recently held SADC meeting of justice ministers and attorney generals.
Namibia’s Insolvency Act is way outdated having been in practice for the past 79 years without any amendments whatsoever.