Fraud suspect Koch stalls extradition plan again

MULTI-MILLION dollar fraud suspect Hans Juergen Koch last week once again managed to stall plans to extradite him to Germany to be put on trial on fraud, tax evasion and forgery charges.

German citizen Koch, whose extradition has been pending since he was arrested at his Tsumeb district hunting farm, La Rochelle, on October 14 2002, was set to be handed over to German government officials at Windhoek’s Hosea Kutako International Airport at 15h00 on Friday. On Thursday, however, two of Koch’s lawyers, Louis Botes and Christie Mostert, returned to the High Court, where Koch’s appeal against a Tsumeb Magistrate’s Court ruling that he could be extradited was dismissed on July 22, with an urgent application to halt the extradition pending a further appeal that Koch wants to lodge with the Supreme Court.After the High Court dismissed Koch’s first appeal, the Minister of Justice on August 4 authorised his surrender to the German government, and set Friday (August 12) as the date for this move.In the meantime, Koch’s lawyers and the Office of the Prosecutor General had been waging a correspondence war about Koch’s intention to appeal to the Supreme Court against the High Court’s decision to dismiss his first appeal against the Tsumeb Magistrate’s decision.As this was going on, the Office of the Prosecutor General informed Koch’s lawyers that in its opinion Koch did not have a right to appeal to the Supreme Court, but that an appeal against a Magistrate’s extradition ruling could in terms of the Extradition Act only go up to the High Court, and no further.Koch’s urgent application was settled by agreement between his legal team and that of Government and the PG’s Office.In terms of the agreement, Koch will not be extradited pending the outcome of his intended appeal to the Supreme Court.He will, however, first have to return to the High Court with an application before Judges Sylvester Mainga and Kato van Niekerk – who dismissed his appeal three weeks ago – to ask for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.The 56-year-old Koch remains in custody, where he has spent the past two years and 10 months.Any time that he spends being detained in Namibia pending his extradition will be offset against any sentence he might eventually receive in Germany if he is convicted there, the German Ambassador to Namibia informed the Minister of Justice in Germany’s initial request for Koch’s extradition in early October 2002.Koch is set to face 203 fraud charges, 12 counts of tax evasion, and four charges of falsifying documents.He is accused of defrauding a host of German local authorities through a financing scheme between 1987 and 1999.While the scheme was still operating, Koch siphoned off the equivalent of some N$110 million, it is charged.In the extradition request, the Ambassador also stated that seven local authorities that had entrusted deposits to Koch’s business were owed the equivalent of some N$420 million when the scheme collapsed in March 2000.Koch is also accused of failing to pay some N$24 million in taxes.Koch, who has lived in Namibia since December 1999, has denied that he committed any crimes in Germany, but has also claimed that he did not want to return to Germany to stand trial because he did not think he would receive a fair trial.On Thursday, however, two of Koch’s lawyers, Louis Botes and Christie Mostert, returned to the High Court, where Koch’s appeal against a Tsumeb Magistrate’s Court ruling that he could be extradited was dismissed on July 22, with an urgent application to halt the extradition pending a further appeal that Koch wants to lodge with the Supreme Court.After the High Court dismissed Koch’s first appeal, the Minister of Justice on August 4 authorised his surrender to the German government, and set Friday (August 12) as the date for this move.In the meantime, Koch’s lawyers and the Office of the Prosecutor General had been waging a correspondence war about Koch’s intention to appeal to the Supreme Court against the High Court’s decision to dismiss his first appeal against the Tsumeb Magistrate’s decision.As this was going on, the Office of the Prosecutor General informed Koch’s lawyers that in its opinion Koch did not have a right to appeal to the Supreme Court, but that an appeal against a Magistrate’s extradition ruling could in terms of the Extradition Act only go up to the High Court, and no further.Koch’s urgent application was settled by agreement between his legal team and that of Government and the PG’s Office.In terms of the agreement, Koch will not be extradited pending the outcome of his intended appeal to the Supreme Court.He will, however, first have to return to the High Court with an application before Judges Sylvester Mainga and Kato van Niekerk – who dismissed his appeal three weeks ago – to ask for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.The 56-year-old Koch remains in custody, where he has spent the past two years and 10 months.Any time that he spends being detained in Namibia pending his extradition will be offset against any sentence he might eventually receive in Germany if he is convicted there, the German Ambassador to Namibia informed the Minister of Justice in Germany’s initial request for Koch’s extradition in early October 2002.Koch is set to face 203 fraud charges, 12 counts of tax evasion, and four charges of falsifying documents.He is accused of defrauding a host of German local authorities through a financing scheme between 1987 and 1999.While the scheme was still operating, Koch siphoned off the equivalent of some N$110 million, it is charged.In the extradition request, the Ambassador also stated that seven local authorities that had entrusted deposits to Koch’s business were owed the equivalent of some N$420 million when the scheme collapsed in March 2000.Koch is also accused of failing to pay some N$24 million in taxes.Koch, who has lived in Namibia since December 1999, has denied that he committed any crimes in Germany, but has also claimed that he did not want to return to Germany to stand trial because he did not think he would receive a fair trial.