Interpol roped into extraditing Icelanders
PG Martha Imalwa has sought help from Interpol to trace Icelandic fisheries executives wanted in Namibia in relation to Fishrot.
JEMIMA BEUKES
WINDHOEK
Prosecutor-General (PG) Martha Imalwa has revealed in court papers that she has roped in the services of Interpol to help extradite Icelandic fisheries executives wanted in Namibia for their role in the Fishrot scandal.
Imalwa said she is confident that the Icelanders, who are denying any wrongdoing, will be successfully extradited.
In her heads of arguments in an application by Ricardo Gustavo against her asset restraint order, the PG said there is no reason why the extradition process will not be successful or why whistle-blower Johannes Stefansson will not be able to testify.
Stefansson lifted the lid on the bribery scandal that landed Gustavo and two cabinet ministers at the time – Bernhardt Esau and Sacky Shanghala – in jail.
The State is in the process of extraditing three Icelandic Samherji employees, Ingvar Júlíusson, Egill Helgi Árnason and Adalsteinn Helgason, to stand trial in the matter.
Samherji is at the heart of the Fishrot scandal as it is alleged that millions in bribes were embezzled through the entity. The State alleged that up to N$317 million was looted in the scandal.
“The prosecution, in any event, has enough other evidence to prove their case. There is no real dispute about my contentions. The foreigners [Icelanders] do not offer any contrary evidence. They merely express scepticism and thus seek a referral to oral evidence to bolster their opposition to my application,” Imalwa said.
She added that the Icelanders cannot seriously dispute the evidence upon which she based her application for a restraint order, which is now opposed by Gustavo and some of his co-accused.
‘Skulking foreigners’
“The foreigners [Icelanders] do not offer any evidence of their own. They will not come here, give oral evidence or be cross-examined. They will skulk in their foreign hideaways and have their lawyers cross-examine me and Mr Stefánsson.
“But they should not be allowed to refuse to submit to the jurisdiction of this court and yet invoke its processes to undermine the case against them,” she said.
According to her, the Icelanders are wiping their traces and have no more directors in Namibia, which prompted her office to seek help from Interpol to trace them, adding that they fastidiously fail to disclose their whereabouts.
“Their deponent, Mr Júlíusson, even refuses to disclose where, when and how they authorised him to bring this application on their behalf. The very foundation of this application is that the foreigners will defeat any attempt to prosecute them in Namibia. Their foreign directors will do so by refusing to set foot in Namibia and by resisting any attempt to extradite them for trial in Namibia,” the PG said.
“Nothing can be further from the truth than the foreigners’ pious claims that all they want is a fair trial.”
[email protected]
WINDHOEK
Prosecutor-General (PG) Martha Imalwa has revealed in court papers that she has roped in the services of Interpol to help extradite Icelandic fisheries executives wanted in Namibia for their role in the Fishrot scandal.
Imalwa said she is confident that the Icelanders, who are denying any wrongdoing, will be successfully extradited.
In her heads of arguments in an application by Ricardo Gustavo against her asset restraint order, the PG said there is no reason why the extradition process will not be successful or why whistle-blower Johannes Stefansson will not be able to testify.
Stefansson lifted the lid on the bribery scandal that landed Gustavo and two cabinet ministers at the time – Bernhardt Esau and Sacky Shanghala – in jail.
The State is in the process of extraditing three Icelandic Samherji employees, Ingvar Júlíusson, Egill Helgi Árnason and Adalsteinn Helgason, to stand trial in the matter.
Samherji is at the heart of the Fishrot scandal as it is alleged that millions in bribes were embezzled through the entity. The State alleged that up to N$317 million was looted in the scandal.
“The prosecution, in any event, has enough other evidence to prove their case. There is no real dispute about my contentions. The foreigners [Icelanders] do not offer any contrary evidence. They merely express scepticism and thus seek a referral to oral evidence to bolster their opposition to my application,” Imalwa said.
She added that the Icelanders cannot seriously dispute the evidence upon which she based her application for a restraint order, which is now opposed by Gustavo and some of his co-accused.
‘Skulking foreigners’
“The foreigners [Icelanders] do not offer any evidence of their own. They will not come here, give oral evidence or be cross-examined. They will skulk in their foreign hideaways and have their lawyers cross-examine me and Mr Stefánsson.
“But they should not be allowed to refuse to submit to the jurisdiction of this court and yet invoke its processes to undermine the case against them,” she said.
According to her, the Icelanders are wiping their traces and have no more directors in Namibia, which prompted her office to seek help from Interpol to trace them, adding that they fastidiously fail to disclose their whereabouts.
“Their deponent, Mr Júlíusson, even refuses to disclose where, when and how they authorised him to bring this application on their behalf. The very foundation of this application is that the foreigners will defeat any attempt to prosecute them in Namibia. Their foreign directors will do so by refusing to set foot in Namibia and by resisting any attempt to extradite them for trial in Namibia,” the PG said.
“Nothing can be further from the truth than the foreigners’ pious claims that all they want is a fair trial.”
[email protected]
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