Kamushinda 'mastermind' in N$380 million theft

The provisional liquidators of the SME Bank say they have sufficient evidence that Zimbabwean banker Enock Kamushinda was the “mastermind” in the theft of about N$380 million from the bank.

David Bruni and Ian McLaren made this incredible assertion in court papers lodged with the High Court in Windhoek in the ongoing back and forth court challenges, most of which are being instituted by Kamushinda who is desperately trying to stop any further probing into the matter.

The liquidators submitted that N$79 million was transferred from the SME Bank to the South African entity Asset Movement and Financial Service (AMFS).

Of this amount, N$64 million was delivered by a certain George Markides in hard cash to a street address in Springs, a South African city in the proximity of Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Bruni in his affidavit states that the “thieves” were so brazen that they had no hesitation to reference the hard cash – “so stolen and delivered” – back to the source where it was stolen from, the SME Bank.

Telephone records show Markides and Kamushinda were in telephonic contact no less than 70 times during the period the hard cash was delivered.

Two companies owned by Kamushinda, Crown Finance Corporation and Heritage Investments, both received direct electronic fund transfers from AMFS.

The liquidators claim some of the money transferred was “stolen” from the SME Bank. They said they are still investigating who exactly, and in what proportion, the N$64 million hard cash was divided by “recipients of the fraud, theft and money laundering”.





Kamushinda's activities

Kamushinda is one of two directors of Crown Finance and Heritage Investments, both companies registered in Namibia. The other director is a certain Nadiema Izolda Eberenz.

Both Crown Finance and Heritage Investments have entered into a service contract with AMFS since July 2016, according to which AMFS were to transport and/or transfer monies belonging to the companies to premises or into bank accounts on behalf of the companies.

This contract was signed by the former CEO of the SME Bank, Tawanda Mumvuma, on behalf of Crown Finance.

The liquidators maintain the service agreement is nothing more than a cover-up for money laundering and that Mumvuma had worked together with Kamushinda in this “fraudulent scheme”.

Crown Finance received direct payments through an FNB account in South Africa from AMFS when Benoni-based model Kalandra Viljoen was at the helm of AMFS.

The liquidators say at that time AMFS had received about N$500 million per month into its account. Viljoen had received on instructions of a certain 'Lisa', who apparently is in fact Markides's assistant, to transfer the money into the Crown Finance and Heritage accounts.

It is alleged that AMFS had electronically transferred N$2,3 million and N$1,8 million into the accounts of Crown Finance and Heritage Investments during 2015 and 2016 respectively in amounts ranging from N$40 000 to N$230 000 at a time, money the liquidators say was stolen from the SME Bank.



Court challenges

Kamushinda has instituted in a string of court challenges – in Namibia and South Africa – attempting to waylay the liquidators' attempts to find the missing SME Bank millions.

The liquidators' latest answering affidavits are in response to a renewed attempt by him to stop the commission of inquiry into the missing millions ordered by the High Court and an attempt to curtail the liquidators' mandate.

The Supreme Court is scheduled deliver its ruling today (23 Oct) on the appeal brought by the Metropolitan Bank and World Eagle Investment against the High Court's decision to place the SME Bank under final liquidation.