The ongoing fraud case involving the Swakopmund tourism flight operator Bush Birds has been delayed once again as a defence counsel member was absent due to medical reasons.
The matter, which has been prolonged since 2022, and which was set to continue last week, has now been postponed to 5 February next year.
The defendants in the case include prominent Swakopmund lawyer, businessman, and developer Gerhard van der Merwe, his former business partner, Paulo Coimbra, Rene Sauerbrei, a German national previously employed by them, and the Swakopmund flight operations Bush Bird CC and Bush Bird Aviation CC, both represented by Van der Merwe.
The accused face several charges, including fraud, the failure to provide pertinent information to the executive director of the Namibia Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), and the unauthorised operation of a small aircraft without the requisite Air Operator Licence (AOL).
The case dates back to an alleged incident in April 2018, in which Van der Merwe is accused of allegedly defrauding South African aircraft operator Nico Köhne by falsely claiming to lawfully represent the deregistered Bush Birds and entering into an aircraft lease agreement with him.
Furthermore, Van der Merwe, Coimbra, and Sauerbrei are also accused of having allegedly deceived the NCAA and the Transportation Commission of Namibia between April 2017 and March 2018.
They allegedly misrepresented the status of Bush Birds, asserting that it was still operational and in possession of the necessary AOL and Air Operator Certificate (AOC).
In addition to these charges, it is claimed that they allegedly neglected to inform the executive director of the NCAA of the changes in Bush Birds’ status, including its deregistration and change of ownership, and the absence of an AOL or AOC to operate an air transportation business.
The defendants made their first court appearance in February 2022 and were released without bail.
In their following appearances, the case was repeatedly postponed due to the absence of their defence advocates.
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