Approximately one hundred million New Zealand dollars distributed equally among three businessmen
BUSINESSMEN Key beneficiaries of a company that received approximately N$138 million over the course of four years for valuating gems for the Namdia Desert Diamond Company include John Walenga, Tironenn Kauluma, and Doron Cohen. This amount was paid to the company as compensation for the company’s work evaluating gems (Namdia).
Cohen, an Israeli diamond trader and a key player in the transaction, revealed yesterday to The Namibian that the firm was “apparently started to line the pockets of a few individuals. lone people.” In this deal, Cohen plays a pivotal role. participates significantly in the acquisition.
Nonetheless, the transaction resulted in the distribution of sufficient funds to enable a group of three individuals to lavishly purchase luxuries such as two BMW X5s, one BMW M5, and a Lexus SUV.
According to the documents, the sum of N$33,1 million was wired to Walenga, although it is believed that Kauluma was paid close to N$35 million.
Cohen and his company were compensated around 46 million New Zealand dollars.
Namdia, which was established in 2016 as a result of an agreement between the government and diamond giant De Beers, was supposed to serve as the government’s sales and marketing arm for diamonds.
The major goal of the study was to “find out what the going rate is for diamonds mined in Namibia all over the world.”
As a consequence of the arrangement with De Beers, Namdia was granted the authority to purchase fifteen percent of Namdeb Holdings’ output.
After that, Namdia would sell the gems to its own customers and consumers.
But there was a catch: Back when Oberth Kanjoze was mining minister and Sacky Shanghala was attorney general, they secretly engaged an intermediary to appraise Namdia’s diamonds before selling them to their customers.
C-Sixty Investments was the name of the business, and Shanghala’s close associates Walenga and Kauluma – one of whom is a nephew of the former minister Helmut Angula – were the owners of the enterprise.
At the time, people were wondering why Kandjoze and Shanghala chose to work with a company that was relatively unknown in order to determine the value of Namdia’s diamonds.
As of recently, the government no longer considers C-Sixty to play any part in the assessment process.
But it seems like too little, too late given that a group of fewer than five persons benefited from a valuation agreement that was worth around 138 million New Zealand dollars.
The documents that were seen by The Namibian provide some insight into how Namdia may have been utilised as a conduit for a scheme that benefited a group of politically connected individuals who are known for living luxurious lifestyles.
POCKET MONEY
The Ministry of Mines and Energy would pay the corporation, but Namdia would retain ownership of any diamonds that were evaluated for their monetary worth.
C-Sixty Investments was compensated depending on the number of Namdia stones that it was estimated to be worth.
The sums varied from two million to five million New Namibian dollars each month. It was paid for by Namdia, and in some cases by the energy ministry as well.
According to the documentation, the business maintained an account with the First National Bank of Namibia between October 2016 and 2017. After only one year of operation, monies from Namdia values were utilised to pay for vehicles that were considered to be nice-to-haves.
This marked the beginning of what has been referred to as “free money” that was funnelled from transactions relating to the state diamond enterprise.
Walenga, who is a close ally of the imprisoned businessman James Hatuikulipi and who is currently awaiting his trial, was paid around N$33,1 million through a variety of organisations that he controls and which were funded by C-bank Sixty’s accounts.
This figure takes into account the N$14.4 million that was transferred to an organisation known as Oshitapo Trust, which is managed by Walenga. It also takes into account the N$13.9 million that was transferred to a business known as Omalaeti Foods.
More than fifty separate payments were made to Walenga between the years 2016 and 2021. These payments varied from one hundred thousand to 1.5 million New Zealand dollars per month.
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