Businessmen and brothers Peter and Malakia Elindi, who are facing charges in the Namcor fraud and corruption case, must pay N$28.8 million to the Development Bank of Namibia (DBN), a judge of the Windhoek High Court has ordered.
Acting judge James Devittie ordered the payment in a summary judgement granted on Friday.
Devittie granted the judgement for the payment of N$28.8 million against the Elindis and the close corporations Wholesale Purchasing, Bonsec Investments 174 and Bonsec Investments 175, which were sued by the DBN last July.
The DBN applied for a summary judgement against the Elindis and the three close corporations in April this year, based on an allegation that the defendants did not have a bona fide defence to the DBN’s claim for N$28.8 million and had notified the court that they would oppose the claim solely to delay the bank’s legal action.
In an affidavit filed at the court, Malakia disputed that allegation and in turn alleged that the DBN had not correctly calculated the amount it claimed from him, his brother and the three close corporations.
The bank’s claim emanated from loan agreements between it and the scandal-hit fuel company Enercon Namibia, of which the Elindis are former directors and shareholders.
The DBN claimed that it and Enercon concluded a first written loan agreement in February 2011. In terms of that agreement, the bank lent N$2.8 million to Enercon.
In terms of a second loan agreement, which was concluded in May 2015, the DBN agreed to lend N$18.07 million to Enercon, the bank claimed.
The DBN also claimed that Enercon failed to pay monthly instalments on that loan to the bank as the instalments became due.
Since the loan was given, Enercon made 55 payments in the sum of N$18.7 million to the DBN, but it did not pay its monthly instalments since February 2024, the bank alleged.
By the end of last May, Enercon was in arrears in an amount of N$19.4 million with the repayment of the loan, the bank claimed.
Under another loan agreement, also concluded in May 2015, the DBN agreed to lend N$7.2 million to Enercon, the bank claimed as well.
It alleged that Enercon failed to pay the monthly instalments on that loan as required, too.
Enercon made 47 payments in the sum of N$6.5 million on that loan, but did not pay its monthly instalments since October 2022, and by the end of last May was in arrears in the amount of N$9.4 million, the DBN claimed.
The Elindis provided suretyship in respect of all of the loans, the DBN said.
It also said the state-owned August 26 Holding Company, which is a shareholder in Enercon, and the three close corporations provided suretyship in respect of the second and third loans.
Devittie refused to grant a summary judgement against August 26 Holding Company, and postponed the action against the company to 23 July.
Enercon is being wound up after the National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) subsidiary Namcor Petroleum Trading and
Distribution asked the High Court last June to issue an order for the winding-up of the company.
The court was informed that Enercon failed to pay Namcor Petroleum Trading and Distribution for fuel products delivered to it.
Enercon owed Namcor Petroleum Trading and Distribution about N$39 million at the end of March 2023.
By the end of November 2023, Enercon’s indebtedness to the Namcor company had risen to N$114.6 million, the court was informed.
Enercon is playing a central role in a criminal case about alleged fraud and corruption at Namcor, in which the Elindi brothers and nine other individuals were arrested in July last year.
The accused in that matter, which is pending in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court, are alleged to have defrauded Namcor and to have committed corruption through the purchase of filling station assets by Namcor Petroleum Trading and Distribution from Enercon in July 2022, and through the flouting of credit limits that Enercon and another fuel firm, Erongo Petroleum, had with Namcor.
