WINDHOEK – Windhoek High Court Acting Judge Kobus Miller last Friday admitted into evidence bank records obtained from the accounts of Boykie Noa Naukosho (30), and his company Tripple N Investments after a trial within a trial to determine their admissibility.
According to Miller, the manner in which the summonses were obtained is in accordance with procedures set down in the Anti-Corruption Act (ACA).
The trial within a trial was held during the trial of two Namibians and 12 Angolans accused of defrauding the Namibian government to the tune of N$210 million through false tax refunds on purchases exported from Namibia after the defence disputed summonses used to obtain the bank records of Namibian citizen Naukosho.
According to the defence, the summonses were issued under a wrong section of the Anti-Corruption Act and were issued before an investigation was initiated by the ACC.
They also argued that the summonses were too broad and not intelligible.
According to the judge, the evidence of ACC Director-General, Paulus Noah and the investigator who were the only ones who gave evidence can be relied upon.
He found that the summonses were issued after an investigation was launched and that the summonses were client-specific. With regard to the argument that the summonses were issued under the wrong sections of the ACA, the judge said that the defence laboured under a wrong impression ostensibly stemming from the judgement of Judge Christi Liebenberg in the Teckla Lameck matter. Miller further said the judgment in that matter was revisited by Liebenberg and corrected after he realised he made a mistake and the defence in this matter waddled into the same muddy stream.
He dismissed the objections and ordered the bank records as admissible. All of the accused pleaded not guilty to 629 counts of fraud alternatively theft, money laundering and corruptly giving a document containing false information to an agent before Judge Miller and his two assessors, John Mandy and Yolande Böttger at the start of their trial.
The amount involved in the massive value added tax fraud scam has more than doubled from the initial N$114 million to over N$210 million it emerged from the indictment document. It is alleged the accused were involved in the use of forged tax invoices, VAT claim forms and customs documentation to claim VAT refunds from the Ministry of Finance.
The accused are: Mamsy Mweneni Nuuyoma, 28, a Namibian citizen who worked at Aveshe Consultancy, the company managing VAT refunds on behalf of the ministry at the time the frauds were allegedly committed who is facing 626 counts including defeating or attempting to defeat the course of justice in addition to the other charges.
The other accused are Angolan Citizens Benvindo Momafuba, Pembele Zimutu, Joaquim Pedro Espanhol, 35, Joao Manuel Dos Santos, 38, Tatiana Luquena Muchado Gonga, 28, Carlos Victor Elisea, 33, Isaac Cativa Cupessala, 43, Paquete Americo Kapayole Jose, Malakias Tomas Rufine, 29, Carlos Feleciano Tchinduku, Miapa Aurelio Nelson, 32, Lucio Jose Cazembe, 43.
Each accused will be prosecuted on certain accusations only, according to the charge sheet.
Advocate Winnie Christiaans represents Nuuyoma, Marvin Katuvesirauina is on record for Momafuba and Eliseu; Trevor Brockerhoff for Zimutu, Cupessala, Jose, Nelson and Naukosho; Theo Carollus for Gonga and Rufine and Mekumbu Tjiteere for Tchinduku and Cazembe, Kalundu Kamwi is representing Dos Santos.
All the accused except Nuuyoma, Nestor, Momafuba, Zimutu, Gonga, Cupessala, Cazembe and Naukosho are in custody.
*Rroth@nepc.com.na