Namangol’s Josea gets a breather until November

ONE of the main figures in the financial scandal that burst into the open after a company that had to handle a N$30 million investment by the Social Security Commission went bankrupt last year made another brief appearance in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court on a charge of fraud on Wednesday.

The case against Nico Josea (44), Chief Executive Officer of Namangol Investments, was again postponed for further Police investigations. Josea has to appear in court again on November 17.Josea was arrested on July 26 last year, after it emerged that Namangol Investments, an asset management company that he had set up, received N$29,5 million out of an investment of N$30 million that the SSC had entrusted to another, unproven asset management company, Avid Investment Corporation, in January last year.Avid was supposed to return the investment, with interest, four months later.Of this N$29,5 million, Josea transferred N$20 million to a supposed investment broker, Alan Rosenberg, in South Africa.Rosenberg in turn again paid Josea N$15 million about a month and a half later, and Josea went on to spend, give away and invest all this money within a matter of weeks.By the time that Avid had to repay the SSC’s N$30 million, its own bank account was all but empty, and the money that had to be returned to it was not forthcoming from either Josea or Rosenberg.This set in motion a flurry of legal proceedings, in which first Avid and then Namangol Investments and Josea personally were provisionally declared bankrupt as part of efforts by the SSC to recover its money through the courts.Josea was also arrested, and remained in custody for just over three months before he was granted bail of N$30 000 on November 1 last year.He has denied that he committed either fraud or theft.Namangol Investments and Josea’s personal estate remain under provisional liquidation and sequestration respectively.The High Court reserved its judgements on applications to finally declare both the company and Josea bankrupt close to three months ago.The judgements remain pending.Josea has to appear in court again on November 17.Josea was arrested on July 26 last year, after it emerged that Namangol Investments, an asset management company that he had set up, received N$29,5 million out of an investment of N$30 million that the SSC had entrusted to another, unproven asset management company, Avid Investment Corporation, in January last year.Avid was supposed to return the investment, with interest, four months later.Of this N$29,5 million, Josea transferred N$20 million to a supposed investment broker, Alan Rosenberg, in South Africa.Rosenberg in turn again paid Josea N$15 million about a month and a half later, and Josea went on to spend, give away and invest all this money within a matter of weeks.By the time that Avid had to repay the SSC’s N$30 million, its own bank account was all but empty, and the money that had to be returned to it was not forthcoming from either Josea or Rosenberg.This set in motion a flurry of legal proceedings, in which first Avid and then Namangol Investments and Josea personally were provisionally declared bankrupt as part of efforts by the SSC to recover its money through the courts.Josea was also arrested, and remained in custody for just over three months before he was granted bail of N$30 000 on November 1 last year.He has denied that he committed either fraud or theft.Namangol Investments and Josea’s personal estate remain under provisional liquidation and sequestration respectively.The High Court reserved its judgements on applications to finally declare both the company and Josea bankrupt close to three months ago.The judgements remain pending.