Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Eliaser Ndeyanale
Published on 2024-04-03 17:00:00
The Prosecutor General (PG) Martha Imalwa, along with her team, is diligently examining documents that detail the alleged looting of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Bank to determine if any criminal activity led to the bank’s closure in 2017. This comes after Supreme Court Judge Dave Smuts directed the court’s registrar to provide Imalwa with a set of documents filed by the bank’s liquidators in the High Court.
Imalwa stated that her office would carefully analyze these documents in conjunction with the case file to establish whether criminal charges can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. She acknowledged the heavy burden that prosecutors carry in such cases but assured that the matter is now in her hands.
The documents provided by the liquidators outlined the results of their investigation into the theft of funds from the SME Bank, revealing large-scale theft allegedly orchestrated by Enock Kamushinda and his Zimbabwean associates in the bank’s finance department. It was reported that over N$247 million had been funneled to entities in South Africa.
Despite evidence suggesting crimes such as theft and violations of financial regulations, no arrest warrant was issued for Kamushinda in Namibia as he reportedly left the country before the Bank of Namibia’s intervention in 2017. The Supreme Court has directed an investigation into lawyer Francois Bangamwabo’s conduct for potentially misleading the court in an appeal filed by Kamushinda and his associates.
In a High Court judgment, acting Judge Collins Parker held Kamushinda, World Eagle Investments, and Metbank liable for the debts of the SME Bank, ordering them to pay a total of N$1.02 billion to the liquidators. The Supreme Court affirmed the execution of these orders, stating that the appeal filed by the defendants had lapsed.
The Bank of Namibia had licensed the SME Bank in November 2012, approving a 30% shareholding for Metbank and a 5% shareholding for World Eagle Investments, with the remaining 65% shares held by the Namibian government. The liquidators discovered that over N$247.5 million was stolen from the bank’s funds, primarily transferred to entities in South Africa, implicating Kamushinda and other individuals in the finance department.
The liquidators also presented evidence that the stolen funds were transferred to companies owned or controlled by Kamushinda, such as Crown Finance Corporation and Heritage Investments. This revelation sheds light on the elaborate scheme of misappropriation that led to the SME Bank’s closure.
In conclusion, the thorough investigation and legal actions taken against those responsible for the looting of the SME Bank demonstrate the commitment to upholding accountability and justice in the financial sector. The pursuit of justice in this case serves as a deterrent against future financial crimes and reinforces the importance of transparency and integrity in banking institutions.
Read the original article on The Namibian
