Africa-Press – Namibia. NATIONAL police spokesperson deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi yesterday said the USD60 billion ‘stolen’ from credit scheme Credit Union Namibia in the form of a ‘development grant for Africa’ never actually reached Namibia.
This comes after the police on Wednesday announced they are on the hunt for the alleged thieves of N$60 billion belonging to investors in this entity.
Shikwambi said a case has been opened by a representative of Credit Union Namibia (CUN), who alleged his company was supposed to have benefited from a grant to the tune US$60 billion.
“The grant was allegedly earmarked for the development of African countries, among others, Namibia. Consequently, the money was never delivered to the intended beneficiaries, hence the suspicion of fraud and the opening of a case by the representative of CUN,” she said.
Shikwambi said a preliminary investigations conducted disclosed that the alleged U$60 billion never entered Namibia, thus the complainant’s company has not suffered any potential or actual loss.
“Therefore, the matter will be transmitted to the respective country where the investors funds were alleged to be released for the further consideration of the complainant of CUN by their law-enforcement authorities.
“It appears from the investigations that neither the Financial Intelligence Centre, nor the Bank of Namibia has any records of such funds entering the country,” she said. Shikwambi said the police has noted with regret that the dissemination of the first information on this matter, especially on the amount involved, has caused the country and its investors unnecessary alarm.
“The error is regretted and the Namibian Police Force thus wishes to appeal for calm, and reassures the Namibia nation and potential investors that the alleged fraud did not take place in Namibia, in light of the information that has been subsequently uncovered which put the allegations in perspective,” she said.
Bank of Namibia (BoN) spokesperson Kazembire Zemburuka this week said there was no evidence to support the theft of N$60 billion in funds from CUN. He said all cross-border transactions are reported to the BoN by commercial banks, which are authorised dealers in foreign exchange transactions.
“The bank would like to inform the public that at no point was such an amount transferred or deposited by any entity or individuals associated with Credit Union Namibia in the banking system in Namibia,” he said. Zemburuka said the BoN does not issue sovereign guarantees to foreign investors, as alleged in several social media posts. He said claims that the bank’s staff members are involved in fraudulent server-to-server transactions are not factual.
“There are no relevant facts or evidence supporting this. The bank has noticed an increase in online scams, misinformation, and hoaxes which target and involve the public and encourages the public to remain vigilant and to take the necessary steps to verify information on social media and other platforms – particularly if such information is not distributed by credible sources,” he said. Police spokesperson warrant officer Silas Shipandeni on Wednesday said a case of fraud was opened by CUN’s chief executive officer, Theron Ruping Louie (56), in December last year.
The Namibian this week telephonically contacted a man by the name of ‘Theron’, who confirmed he was connected to CUN. “You must get your facts in order, the facts are not in order,” he said and hung up.
Upon further investigation, The Namibian discovered CUN operates under a Facebook company page called ‘Fur Group Pty LTD’, which is an online trading scheme.
One of the posts on the page reads: “Deposit R1 000 and qualify for a loan of R10 000. Open a bank account with Credit Union Namibia today and benefit from all CUN’s outstanding banking services.” The account encourages people to invest and bank with the entity online.
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