WINDHOEK – Charles Winston Manale, 35, yesterday morning told Windhoek High Court Judge Dinnah Usiku at the Windhoek Correctional Facility High Court that all the money he stole from Standard Bank Namibia was spent on parties, travelling abroad and clothing for himself, his friends and family.
Judge Usiku convicted Manale on 147 counts of fraud and one count of money laundering. He pleaded guilty to the fraud charges, but not guilty on the money laundering charge.
She convicted him on that count late last week after he failed to turn up for his scheduled court appearance the week before. For that misdemeanor, the judge sentenced Manale to a fine of N$2000 or six months in prison. He is currently serving the jail term while waiting for his sentence on the fraud and money laundering charges.
While testifying in mitigation, Manale narrated how he would spoil himself with luxury holidays “north, south, east and west”. He never once apologized to his former employer, but emphatically told the court the money is gone.
The charges emanate from the time Manale was employed by Standard Bank Namibia as a senior estate and trust officer in the department Standard Executors and Trustees and was responsible for, amongst others, the supervision of the estate and trust officers whose duties are to receive requests for payments from beneficiaries and after verification, to load such requests on the system for approval and authorization of payment.
Manale admitted that he hatched a plan during January, 2011 to defraud the Estate Accounts through a manipulation of the requests and payments system by making phony requests from the Estates Accounts and then authorizing payment of the proceeds into the account of one Kauko Daniel Nehale from January 2011 until August 2013.
He further admitted that after the death of Nehale and from September 2013 up to December 2015, he made the payments directly into his personal bank account at First National Bank. As a result, he misappropriated more than N$5 million and is thus guilty of fraud.
The case is continuing today with Manale under cross-examination by State Advocate Constance Moyo. He is represented by Jan Wessels on instructions of Legal Aid.