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Home / Winston Manale to plead guilty to 147 fraud charges
Winston Manale to plead guilty to 147 fraud charges
2018-07-20Staff Report 2 Roland Routh WINDHOEK - The lawyer for confessed fraudster, Charles Winston Manale, 34, yesterday informed Windhoek High Court Judge Christi Liebenberg during a scheduled pre-trial hearing that Manale wishes to tender a plea of guilty on the 147 counts of fraud, but not guilty on the charge of money laundering. Judge Liebenberg then allocated the matter to Judge Dinnah Usiku at the Windhoek Correctional Facility to preside over the matter and remanded the case to July 26 for Judge Usiku to allocate trial dates. He also advised Jan Wessels who represents Manale and Advocate Constance Moyo for the State to meet and sort out any outstanding issues. Manale faces 147 counts of fraud, alternatively 147 counts of theft by false pretences or 147 counts of theft. The cross-dresser is also charged with money laundering, a contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act. He however claims that this count is a duplication of the other charges. 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 of the system for approval and authorization of payment. The State charges that Manale 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. It is further stated that after the death of Nehale and from September 2013 up to December 2015, Manale made the payments directly into his personal bank account at First National Bank. In the result, the indictment reads, he misappropriated more than five million and is thus guilty of fraud, alternatively theft. It is also said that when Manale stole the money and put it to his personal use, he knew the money was the result of unlawful activities, thereby making him guilty of money laundering. 2018-07-20Staff Report 2
