E-fuel case quietly settled out of court

THE High Court case in which a former director of a company that was contracted to supply and service electronic fuel-monitoring systems for Government’s vehicle fleet was accused of defrauding his business partners of N$1,4 million has been quietly settled.

The case between AFS Group Namibia, and a former director of the company, Esau Mbako, was supposed to return to the High Court on Thursday last week. AFS Namibia is the company that was contracted to supply the so-called e-fuel systems to the Government Garage.The court was scheduled to hear further arguments on an application by the company to have Mbako’s bank accounts frozen and to prevent him from disposing of his assets.The hearing did not take place, though, because the case had been settled in the meantime.For Mbako, the matter is not set to go away, however.In terms of an order that the two parties agreed on and that was issued by Acting Judge Reinhard Toetemeyer in his chambers, two bank accounts that Mbako has with First National Bank of Namibia have been frozen.The bank has been ordered not to allow any payments to be made from those accounts.In addition to that, AFS Group Namibia has been ordered to institute civil legal action against Mbako within two weeks for any money that the company claims he owes it.Not only is there a High Court order remaining in effect against him and his bank, but Mbako might also still face arrest and prosecution over his involvement in AFS Group Namibia’s e-fuel contract with the Government Garage.Dalene Heydenrych, Acting Accountant General in the Ministry of Finance, on Friday said the Finance Ministry had laid a charge of fraud involving N$1,6 million against Mbako.The Office of the Auditor General had already assisted the Ministry in seizing and securing documents relating to the contract in question, she said.Mbako did not want to comment on the matter when he was contacted on Thursday.In an urgent application that Acting Judge Toetemeyer heard on April 5, AFS Group Namibia accused Mbako of having committed fraud.The company alleged that it had discovered that Mbako had unlawfully deposited cheques that the Government Garage made out to the company into his own bank account.Cheques totalling some N$1,4 million that should have been paid into the company’s account had been paid into Mbako’s account instead, the company claimed.The company also claimed that it had discovered that Mbako had been making up fictitious invoices that he presented to the Government Garage for payment.These invoices did not reflect goods sold by the company to the Government Garage, the company alleged.In an answering affidavit, Mbako admitted that he had made up fictitious invoices and had presented these to the Government Garage for payment.Not all payments that the Government Garage had made to AFS Group Namibia, of which he was a director until his resignation on March 13, were actually due and payable to the company, he also stated.Mbako further declared that the Government Garage had paid about N$1,28 million to the company on the basis of fictitious invoices, while it had made payments of about N$780 000 to the company on the basis of genuine invoices.He denied that he owed the company N$1,4 million – or N$1,2 million, since he had paid the company N$200 000 when he was confronted with the findings of the company’s investigation into the matter.”We’re dealing with someone who basically admits fraud,” AFS Group Namibia’s lawyer, Peter Koep, charged when he addressed Acting Judge Toetemeyer during the initial hearing in the High Court on April 5.”We’re dealing with a dishonest man who’s desperate to make a deal,” he commented, saying that the only issue that seemed to be in dispute was how much the fictitious invoices issued by Mbako had amounted to.AFS Namibia is the company that was contracted to supply the so-called e-fuel systems to the Government Garage.The court was scheduled to hear further arguments on an application by the company to have Mbako’s bank accounts frozen and to prevent him from disposing of his assets.The hearing did not take place, though, because the case had been settled in the meantime.For Mbako, the matter is not set to go away, however.In terms of an order that the two parties agreed on and that was issued by Acting Judge Reinhard Toetemeyer in his chambers, two bank accounts that Mbako has with First National Bank of Namibia have been frozen.The bank has been ordered not to allow any payments to be made from those accounts.In addition to that, AFS Group Namibia has been ordered to institute civil legal action against Mbako within two weeks for any money that the company claims he owes it.Not only is there a High Court order remaining in effect against him and his bank, but Mbako might also still face arrest and prosecution over his involvement in AFS Group Namibia’s e-fuel contract with the Government Garage.Dalene Heydenrych, Acting Accountant General in the Ministry of Finance, on Friday said the Finance Ministry had laid a charge of fraud involving N$1,6 million against Mbako.The Office of the Auditor General had already assisted the Ministry in seizing and securing documents relating to the contract in question, she said.Mbako did not want to comment on the matter when he was contacted on Thursday.In an urgent application that Acting Judge Toetemeyer heard on April 5, AFS Group Namibia accused Mbako of having committed fraud.The company alleged that it had discovered that Mbako had unlawfully deposited cheques that the Government Garage made out to the company into his own bank account.Cheques totalling some N$1,4 million that should have been paid into the company’s account had been paid into Mbako’s account instead, the company claimed.The company also claimed that it had discovered that Mbako had been making up fictitious invoices that he presented to the Government Garage for payment.These invoices did not reflect goods sold by the company to the Government Garage, the company alleged.In an answering affidavit, Mbako admitted that he had made up fictitious invoices and had presented these to the Government Garage for payment.Not all payments that the Government Garage had made to AFS Group Namibia, of which he was a director until his resignation on March 13, were actually due and payable to the company, he also stated.Mbako further declared that the Government Garage had paid about N$1,28 million to the company on the basis of fictitious invoices, while it had made payments of about N$780 000 to the company on the basis of genuine invoices.He denied that he owed the company N$1,4 million – or N$1,2 million, since he had paid the company N$200 000 when he was confronted with the findings of the company’s investigation into the matter.”We’re dealing with someone who basically admits fraud,” AFS Group Namibia’s lawyer, Peter Koep, charged when he addressed Acting Judge Toetemeyer during the initial hearing in the High Court on April 5.”We’re dealing with a dishonest man who’s desperate to make a deal,” he commented, saying that the only issue that seemed to be in dispute was how much the fictitious invoices issued by Mbako had amounted to.