SA processes delay SME Bank inquiry
The commission of inquiry set up to probe the demise of the SME Bank is unsure when the second round of questioning with key witnesses will resume, saying processes in South Africa are holding up proceedings.
High Court judge Hosea Angula in 2018 granted an inquiry into the demise of the bank meant to help small and medium enterprises.
The order granted by Angula authorises Windhoek lawyer Natasha Bassingthwaighte to summon witnesses to be questioned about their knowledge of the affairs of SME Bank.
Bassingthwaighte, when asked to shed light into the status of the inquiry, said it was hard to tell when things would resume in Namibia as liquidators Bruni & McLaren were also conducing proceedings in neighbouring South Africa.
The provisional liquidators were in August 2018 granted a lifeline through a court order in the South Gauteng High Court to recover money suspected to have been syphoned to that country.
In terms of the order, four bank accounts, holding a combined amount of N$43.8 million, have been frozen until further legal proceedings. An amount of N$12.5 million is in one of the accounts in the name of the company Moody Blue Trade and Invest 14, according to First National Bank, where the account is held. The other three accounts, all in the name of the company AMFS Solutions, are also at FNB, and hold amounts of N$29.7 million, N$1.3 million and N$230 000, The Namibian reported in August 2018.
In an affidavit filed at the court, Bruni stated that through “various questionable transactions” that occurred between April 2015 and August 2016, payments totalling N$24.9 million had been made by SME Bank to Moody Blue Trade and Invest 14, while a total amount of N$79.8 million, paid by the bank to the South African close corporation Asset Movement and Financial Services, was channelled to AMFS Solutions.
“The inquiry has not been completed. I can unfortunately not give any indication when it will be completed and when we will sit again. The liquidators and their legal representatives are also conducting proceedings in South Africa and that impacts on when we sit,” Bassingthwaighte said.
She added that authorities would have to decide on the way forward following the conclusion of the inquiry.
“The decision as to the further steps to be taken after the commission has been completed will depend on the information obtained during the inquiry,” she said.
“Unfortunately, I cannot provide you with any further information at this stage as the proceedings are confidential,” she added. Minority shareholder in the SME Bank, Enoch Kamushinda, and other shareholders in June 2018 lodged a legal bid to have the inquiry established set aside.
OGONE TLHAGE
High Court judge Hosea Angula in 2018 granted an inquiry into the demise of the bank meant to help small and medium enterprises.
The order granted by Angula authorises Windhoek lawyer Natasha Bassingthwaighte to summon witnesses to be questioned about their knowledge of the affairs of SME Bank.
Bassingthwaighte, when asked to shed light into the status of the inquiry, said it was hard to tell when things would resume in Namibia as liquidators Bruni & McLaren were also conducing proceedings in neighbouring South Africa.
The provisional liquidators were in August 2018 granted a lifeline through a court order in the South Gauteng High Court to recover money suspected to have been syphoned to that country.
In terms of the order, four bank accounts, holding a combined amount of N$43.8 million, have been frozen until further legal proceedings. An amount of N$12.5 million is in one of the accounts in the name of the company Moody Blue Trade and Invest 14, according to First National Bank, where the account is held. The other three accounts, all in the name of the company AMFS Solutions, are also at FNB, and hold amounts of N$29.7 million, N$1.3 million and N$230 000, The Namibian reported in August 2018.
In an affidavit filed at the court, Bruni stated that through “various questionable transactions” that occurred between April 2015 and August 2016, payments totalling N$24.9 million had been made by SME Bank to Moody Blue Trade and Invest 14, while a total amount of N$79.8 million, paid by the bank to the South African close corporation Asset Movement and Financial Services, was channelled to AMFS Solutions.
“The inquiry has not been completed. I can unfortunately not give any indication when it will be completed and when we will sit again. The liquidators and their legal representatives are also conducting proceedings in South Africa and that impacts on when we sit,” Bassingthwaighte said.
She added that authorities would have to decide on the way forward following the conclusion of the inquiry.
“The decision as to the further steps to be taken after the commission has been completed will depend on the information obtained during the inquiry,” she said.
“Unfortunately, I cannot provide you with any further information at this stage as the proceedings are confidential,” she added. Minority shareholder in the SME Bank, Enoch Kamushinda, and other shareholders in June 2018 lodged a legal bid to have the inquiry established set aside.
OGONE TLHAGE
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article