Rosenberg promises SSC N$15m by end of month

THE Social Security Commission is not pinning any hopes on South African financial trader Alan Rosenberg returning the N$15 million that Avid CEO Lazarus Kandara said he would.

“We can come to only one conclusion and that is that Mr Rosenberg is essentially a small-time con artist who hit the big time for a very short time,” SSC legal counsel Andrew Corbett told the High Court yesterday. He told the court that an inquiry held in South Africa in terms of its Insolvency Act last week had yielded little in the way of the SSC believing any testimony Rosenberg had provided.Rosenberg had testified that he would repay the N$15 million in three equal instalments by the end of this month.Kandara told the Avid inquiry in Windhoek two weeks ago that the money would be returned “within 48 hours”.”There is no evidence that one can believe what he [Rosenberg] is saying is true.We place no reliance on that [that Rosenberg will return the money at the end of September],” said Corbett.Corbett said at the Cape Town Inquiry, Rosenberg had given the impression that “money was no problem”.At that inquiry, Serge Kabeya’mwana of Fask Trading testified about a packet of diamonds Namangol CEO Nico Josea is said to have bought from him for N$2,6 million.Josea has testified that he bought the diamonds, which he then took to Zurich, Switzerland, to sell.Unsuccessful in this attempt, the diamonds were then allegedly left with a courier company at the Johannesburg International Airport.Corbett said yesterday a preservation order had been obtained and that the South African Police’s special investigation unit, the Scorpions, were tracking down the bag said to contain the diamonds.Corbett said the bag might not contain any diamonds, but if it did, the current market value would have to be established.He added that the liquidators had learned that Kabeya’mwana tried to get hold of the diamonds this week.The South African inquiry is set to continue on Tuesday and again on September 26 and 27.He told the court that an inquiry held in South Africa in terms of its Insolvency Act last week had yielded little in the way of the SSC believing any testimony Rosenberg had provided.Rosenberg had testified that he would repay the N$15 million in three equal instalments by the end of this month.Kandara told the Avid inquiry in Windhoek two weeks ago that the money would be returned “within 48 hours”.”There is no evidence that one can believe what he [Rosenberg] is saying is true.We place no reliance on that [that Rosenberg will return the money at the end of September],” said Corbett.Corbett said at the Cape Town Inquiry, Rosenberg had given the impression that “money was no problem”.At that inquiry, Serge Kabeya’mwana of Fask Trading testified about a packet of diamonds Namangol CEO Nico Josea is said to have bought from him for N$2,6 million.Josea has testified that he bought the diamonds, which he then took to Zurich, Switzerland, to sell.Unsuccessful in this attempt, the diamonds were then allegedly left with a courier company at the Johannesburg International Airport.Corbett said yesterday a preservation order had been obtained and that the South African Police’s special investigation unit, the Scorpions, were tracking down the bag said to contain the diamonds.Corbett said the bag might not contain any diamonds, but if it did, the current market value would have to be established.He added that the liquidators had learned that Kabeya’mwana tried to get hold of the diamonds this week.The South African inquiry is set to continue on Tuesday and again on September 26 and 27.