Money-laundering case postponed

Money-laundering case postponed No bail for latest three suspects A customs official and two more Chinese men have been added to the charge sheet in a N$3.5 billion money-laundering and fraud case. ELLANIE SMIT



A multi-billion-dollar fraud case involving three Chinese nationals and a Namibian customs official from Walvis Bay continued in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

They face charges of fraud and money laundering involving the staggering sum of N$3.5 billion.

Two of the Chinese nationals and the Namibian made a brief court appearance in Windhoek.

Tao Huizhong, Jinrong Huang and Julius Laurentius were all remanded in custody until 3 January when they will bring a formal bail application.

Tao and Jinrong were brought from the north and were only added to the charge sheet yesterday.

State prosecutor Rowan van Wyk said the two Chinese were the main accused in the case.

Another accused, Zhu Honggang, had been granted N$500 000 bail by the Ondangwa Magistrate’s Court. When he made another appearance in Windhoek earlier this week his bail was extended and the case was postponed until 16 February.

The details of the case remain sketchy. Zhu is the owner of Glory Building Material Supply in Ondangwa and is said to be a Namibian national.

He was arrested on charges of fraud and for contravening section 6 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, which deals with the acquisition, possession or use of the proceeds of crime.

The police arrested Laurentius, who is a customs official at Walvis Bay, during a raid on his office in which computers and documents were seized.

Lawyer Sisa Namandje, who is defending the three Chinese men, this week asked the court to provide him with more information regarding the charges against his clients.

The court then instructed the State to furnish the defence with details of the charges.

Louis Botes, who is defending Laurentius, said his client was unhappy with the treatment he had received. He pointed out that Zhu was granted bail, but Laurentius was denied bail and must bring a formal bail application.

“We intend ... to challenge the validity of the warrants of arrest as well as the search warrants that were issued,” said Botes.

The Bank of Namibia has declined to comment on the alleged N$3.5 billion fraud. It said the currency in circulation in Namibia on 31 October 2016 amounted to N$2.96 billion.