Windhoek
One of the people who face fraud charges involving N$140 million from the Receiver of Revenue was granted bail of N$50 000 in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court this week. Isaac Cativa Cupessala was granted bail by Magistrate Ilge Rheent on Thursday.
As part of his bail conditions, Cupessala was informed not to interfere with ongoing investigations directly or indirectly and that he should also not interfere with State witnesses directly or indirectly in the pending criminal case. The case was then postponed to April 29.
Cupessala was also ordered to surrender his travel documents to Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) senior investigator Carrel Patrick Cloete. He should not apply for new travel documents that would enable him to leave Namibia, as he is seen as a flight risk.
He should report every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to the Ohangwena police station between the hours of 8h00 and 13h00. He may also not leave Omafo and the surrounding area without permission from the investigating officer in this matter. Moyo Moyo represented the State.
Cupessala is one of 19 accused, mostly Angolans, arrested at the VAT office near the Deutsche Höhere Privatschule in Windhoek, while trying to claim tax refunds. They were nabbed by ACC officers last December.
The Namibians allegedly connived with several Angolans to help them submit false tax refund claims to the Receiver of Revenue. The arrests came as a result of ongoing investigations at the request of the finance ministry into cases where VAT (Value Added Tax) receipts were forged to claim refunds from the Receiver of Revenue.