Iuze Mukube
The case involving a group of businessmen, accused of defrauding the finance ministry of N$3.5 billion in revenue, was last week postponed to 18 June 2025 by Deputy Judge President Hosea Angula. This was to ensure the accused Chinese nationals, who currently reside in China, appear in court.
The accused were absent during the proceedings, as the court had previously granted authorisation for their non-appearance due to the high travel costs involved between Namibia and China.
The delay provides them enough time to ensure their attendance, and to formally indicate their pleas to the charges.
During the proceedings, Angula ordered the trial to be scheduled from 20 January to 24 April 2025, and that it should run uninterrupted.
He also provided strict instructions to the solicitors that they should ensure the availability of the accused, and to avoid any conflicting engagements during this trial period.
“The trial will proceed without interruption during the allocated months, and it is imperative that no further delays be brought about by the absence of counsel or other logistical issues,” he instructed.
The Chinese accused are mostly expected to appear in court at the June hearing, and formally indicate their plea to the charges.
Edence will be presented throughout the trial term from January to April 2025.
The accused group is comprises of Namibian national Laurensius Julius and Chinese businessmen Tao Huizhong, Yuiqua Haung, Zhihua Gao, Hongying Jia, Coa Shuhua, Li Dan, Ying Zhang and seven other entities.
They face several counts of fraud, theft, tax evasion and money-laundering.
It was alleged the finance ministry lost a significant amount as a result of understating the worth of the products brought into Namibia, and for which customs taxes were due.
Further investigations, particularly by the Bank of Namibia, revealed that Namibia was losing significant sums of foreign currency, and that N$3.5 billion was being shipped out of the country through Julius’ Extreme Customs Clearing Services. Investigators discovered that goods were over-declared at the bank and under-declared at customs, costing Namibia billions of dollars in losses.
The evidence showed that the amount allegedly paid to foreign recipients did not match the amount on the invoices, and there was a significant discrepancy between the amount presented at the bank for deposit, and that shown at customs for clearance.
Accordingly, it is said a sizeable sum had been transferred to offshore accounts via a local bank.
The accused are represented by Dirk Conradie, Sisa Namandje and Louis du Pisani.
The State is represented by Henry Muhongo.