WALVIS BAY – A local fish trader, who allegedly squandered over N$2 million within two months, now faces the full wrath of the law after his alleged dealings landed him in jail.
Evan Donnie Arnolds was arrested over the weekend and charged under the POCA for fraud and money laundering, after he allegedly defrauded a local businesswoman who ordered a consignment of fish from him. Deputy Commissioner Erastus Iikuyu yesterday confirmed that they are investigating the case, as Arnolds never delivered the consignment.
According to Iikuyu, the woman, Gretchen Cloete went into an agreement with Arnolds to buy fish on behalf of Deep Catch Trading and eventually opened a case against him when he did not keep his end of the agreement. According to his social media, Arnolds started Arzen Investments and Freight forwarding in March last year and also indicates that he is the managing director. “The transaction took place in March this year, however, Arnolds failed to deliver the consignment of fish to Cloete after he was paid for it,” Iikuyu said yesterday.
It is also not clear what type of fish he was selling. Court documents also indicated that Arnolds was initially arrested on 12 July in Windhoek after police at Walvis Bay sent a warrant for his arrest in Windhoek.
He was then granted N$2 000 bail. This led to his case being withdrawn due to a procedural issue that needed to be rectified as the charges he faces are serious and granting bail of N$2 000 was a slap on the wrist.
He was eventually arrested on Friday in Walvis Bay.
During his appearance in the Walvis Bay Magistrate’s Court, State prosecutor Annakleta Kandjimi opposed bail being granted to him due to the seriousness of the case.
“The accused may interfere with the investigations, as he did already. Therefore, the State request that the case be postponed to 8 September,” Kandjimi said.
As a result, magistrate John Sindano informed Arnolds he can formally apply for bail on 15 August.