Eight people accused of customs fraud involving more than N$3 billion plead not guilty 

Eight people accused of customs fraud involving more than N$3 billion denied guilt on 1 583 charges when their long-pending trial started in the Windhoek High Court yesterday.

The eight accused pleaded not guilty in their personal capacities and also on behalf of a company and six close corporations represented by them.

The individuals accused, who went on trial before judge Eileen Rakow, are Namibian businessman Laurensius Julius (49) and Chinese nationals Jack Huang, Tao Huizhong, Gao Zhihua, Jia Hong Ying, Cao Shuhua, Li Dan and Ying Zhang.

The charges against them and seven corporate entities represented by Julius, Tao, Gao, Jia, Cao and Ying consist of 786 counts of fraud, alternatively theft, 786 charges of money laundering, and 11 counts of presenting false documents and making false declarations, which are contraventions of the Customs and Excise Act.

The state is alleging that the accused defrauded Namibia’s customs and excise authorities and Nedbank Namibia by declaring incorrect values for goods imported into Namibia and inflating the costs of freight and other charges for imports.

This allegedly enabled the accused to send inflated amounts of money out of Namibia as supposed payment for imported goods.

The state is also alleging that the accused under-declared the income of their businesses in Namibia for taxation purposes.

The state is alleging that two corporate entities of which Julius was the sole member or shareholder, Extreme Customs Clearing Services and Organise Freight Services, were the clearing agents for 105 entities that imported goods into Namibia from 2013 to 2016.

The state alleges that the importers paid about N$3.1 billion to suppliers in China for imported goods, but overstated freight and other related costs to inflate the amounts remitted from Namibia to China.

Julius is facing 754 charges of fraud, alternatively theft, 754 counts of money laundering and three charges of presenting false documents and making false declarations.

Huang is being tried on 102 counts of fraud or theft, 102 charges of money laundering and three counts of presenting false documents or making false declarations.

“I do not know why I’m standing here,” Huang said when he was asked to plead to the charges, before he told the judge he was denying guilt.

In the fraud charges against Huang, the state is alleging that during the period from March 2013 to October 2014 he remitted an amount of about N$224.7 million from Namibia to China for goods of which the value declared to the customs authorities was US$1.55 million (then about N$15.9 million).

In a plea explanation given to the court, defence lawyer Sisa Namandje, who is representing Huang, Tao, Cao, Li and Ying, said Huang resigned as a member of one of the charged close corporations, Golden Phoenix Enterprises, in October 2012, and from the start of November 2012 he had nothing to do with the management of the entity.

Julius said in a plea statement read by South African senior counsel Barry Roux, who is representing him, that as managing director of Extreme Customs Clearing Services and Organise Freight Services he was not involved in the clearance process of imports at customs relevant to any of the charges.

The clearance of imports at customs was done by employees of Extreme Customs Clearing Services and Organise Freight Services who had the required training and experience, Julius said.

Julius denied that he, Extreme Customs Clearing Services and Organise Freight Services ever represented to Nedbank that invoices presented to the bank were the same invoices that were submitted to the customs authorities.

It is unknown on what basis the state contends that freight and other charges that were charged by exporters were inflated, Julius also said.

The first arrests in the matter were carried out in December 2016.

All of the individuals accused have been released on bail since being arrested.

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