Di Savino drops attempt to add more defendants in N$9m lawsuit against ACC

Italian businessman Antonio Di Savino, who was convicted together with Swapo MP Tobie Aupindi in 2018 – convictions overturned on appeal in 2021 – has abandoned his bid to include additional defendants in his N$9 million lawsuit against the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). At a status hearing in the Windhoek High Court on Wednesday, Di Savino’s lawyer, Jorge Neves, informed the court that his client would no longer seek to cite the trial magistrate and the magistrate’s commission in the matter.The businessman is instead proceeding with his case against ACC director general Paulus Noa, the ACC itself and the prosecutor general (PG), from whom he is demanding more than N$9 million for what he describes as a malicious and baseless prosecution that ruined his career and reputation.According to court documents, Di Savino accuses the ACC and the prosecutor general of instigating and pursuing a prosecution against him without reasonable cause and based on fabricated evidence.The case stems from an ACC investigation launched in 2009–2010 into alleged contraventions of section 29(1)(d) of the Anti-Corruption Act, involving claims that Di Savino lied about the installation of a swimming pool at Aupindi’s Windhoek home.He was prosecuted and convicted in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court and fined N$50 000 or 30 months’ imprisonment alongside Aupindi, then the managing director of Namibia Wildlife Resorts and now a sitting Swapo MP.Lost earnings At the time of his conviction, Di Savino was managing director of Rivoli Namibia Limited, earning a gross monthly salary of N$122 398.57, according to court documents.He was dismissed from his position shortly thereafter, leaving him unemployed and, he argues, unemployable.On 4 October 2021, however, the High Court upheld his appeal, overturned his conviction and sentence, and ordered that any fines he had paid be reimbursed. Aupindi’s appeal in 2021 against his conviction and sentence were also successful.In his civil claim, Di Savino alleges that the ACC deliberately included irrelevant and falsified evidence in its report to the prosecutor general to induce prosecution and that the trial was motivated by malice aimed at damaging him financially and reputationally.He argues that, but for the wrongful prosecution, he would have remained at Rivoli Namibia and earned more than N$8.8 million in salary between October 2018 and September 2024. He is also seeking N$250 000 in damages for anxiety and emotional distress endured during the criminal proceedings.In total, Di Savino is demanding N$9 062 697.04, plus 20% annual interest from the date of judgment until final payment, as well as punitive legal costs. His lawyers describe the matter as a textbook case of malicious prosecution, arguing that the appeal court found the evidence used against him had been fabricated.“The defendants acted without reasonable and probable cause, actuated by improper motive, and intended to injure the plaintiff,” the claim reads.Mediation collapsesMediation in April was unsuccessful. Court-appointed mediator Bernadine Mynhardt reported that representatives of the ACC and PG arrived at the mediation session with explicit instructions not to settle."The ACC and the PG's duly authorised representatives informed the mediator and the plaintiff (Di Savino) that they have no intention to settle, there is no need to discuss the merits of the matter, and that they both have a clear and definitive instruction from the Director-General of the ACC as well as the PG not to engage in any settlement talks," Mynhardt informed the court. Di Savino, who had flown in from Cape Town for the session, was left without recourse as the process failed before it could begin.Defence denies malicious intentIn their plea filed in February this year, the ACC and PG flatly denied Di Savino’s allegations of fabrication, falsification or inducement, insisting that they acted within the law.The ACC admitted that it investigated Di Savino around 2009–2010 in relation to suspected contraventions of the Anti-Corruption Act and compiled a report for the PG. However, it denied any wrongdoing, arguing that the PG exercised her own discretion to prosecute based on the evidence provided.The defendants stressed that although Di Savino’s criminal conviction was later overturned on appeal, this alone does not prove malicious prosecution.They argue that they had “reasonable and probable cause” to prosecute him and maintain that there was no malice, fabrication or falsification involved.rita@nmh-hub.com.na

Di Savino drops attempt to add more defendants in N$9m lawsuit against ACC

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Namibian Sun 2026-06-08

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Di Savino drops attempt to add more defendants in N$9m lawsuit against ACC

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Namibian Sun 2026-06-08

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