Border customs chief suspended over tax fraud

THE Ministry of Finance yesterday suspended a senior customs and excise official in connection with tax fraud.

A well-placed source told The Namibian that the chief Customs Officer at the Noordoewer border post, Stephanus !Owaseb, was suspended without pay. According to the source, !Owaseb allegedly helped a well-known business in the North, Dirk Fruit Supplies Company, to evade customs duties amounting to N$400 000 over a period of one year.!Owaseb reportedly deleted the company’s import declaration entry forms to cheat on tax recoveries.The alleged fraud came to light during an internal audit three months ago, the source told The Namibian.It is alleged that !Owaseb took advantage of an outdated computer system to commit the fraud, but had to stop when a system was introduced in August last year.According to the source, who did not want to be named, !Owaseb allegedly deposited the kickbacks he received from the company into his child’s bank account.After being tipped off about the investigation by another well-placed source, The Namibian approached Customs and Excise Director Godfried Kabozu for comment.He declined to comment, saying he was not aware of such an investigation.Deputy Director Hans Garoeb also declined to comment yesterday.”We do not discuss internal matters,” he said.The Permanent Secretary of Finance, Calle Schlettwein, as well as his deputy, Erica Shafuda, were in meetings yesterday and could not be reached for comment.According to the source, !Owaseb allegedly helped a well-known business in the North, Dirk Fruit Supplies Company, to evade customs duties amounting to N$400 000 over a period of one year.!Owaseb reportedly deleted the company’s import declaration entry forms to cheat on tax recoveries.The alleged fraud came to light during an internal audit three months ago, the source told The Namibian.It is alleged that !Owaseb took advantage of an outdated computer system to commit the fraud, but had to stop when a system was introduced in August last year.According to the source, who did not want to be named, !Owaseb allegedly deposited the kickbacks he received from the company into his child’s bank account.After being tipped off about the investigation by another well-placed source, The Namibian approached Customs and Excise Director Godfried Kabozu for comment.He declined to comment, saying he was not aware of such an investigation.Deputy Director Hans Garoeb also declined to comment yesterday.”We do not discuss internal matters,” he said.The Permanent Secretary of Finance, Calle Schlettwein, as well as his deputy, Erica Shafuda, were in meetings yesterday and could not be reached for comment.