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Firm tied to China president in Namibia graft case
Windhoek (AFP) July 21, 2009 Two Namibians and a Chinese man will appear in court to face corruption charges over a deal to buy security scanners from a firm linked to the son of China's president, officials said Tuesday. China's state-owned Nuctech has a Namibian government contract to supply security scanning equipment in a 55.3 million US dollar deal, paid for with a Chinese loan granted when President Hu Jintao visited the country in 2007. Hu's eldest son, 38-year-old Hu Haifeng, was the president of Nuctech until last year, when he was promoted to party secretary of Tsinghua Holdings, which controls Nuctech and over 20 other companies. "The three persons, including Chinese Nuctech representative for Africa Yang Fan, will be brought before a judge in the high court Wednesday to apply for bail," a court official told AFP. "Since their arrest the trio has been kept behind bars," the official added. Yang and two Namibians, Teckla Lameck and Jerobeam Mokaxwa, were arrested last week after Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigators discovered that a 12.8 million US dollar down payment on 13 scanners had been paid to a firm called Teko Trading. Investigators say Teko Trading is equally owned by Lameck and Mokaxwa, and that the money was purportedly for "consulting fees" and facilitating the procurement. ACC chief investigator Nelius Becker said in an affidavit seen by AFP that "fraud of 12.8 million dollars was committed by Nuctech aided and abetted by Lameck, Mokaxwa and Yang." "In the alternative I believe that the offence of corruptly accepting gratification for giving assistance in the procuring of a contract with a public body has been committed." The charge sheet says Yang deposited 42 million Namibia dollars (5.3 million US dollars) into Teko's account on March 11. Between March and April, Teko Trading is said to have sent several invoices to Nuctech, totalling 12.8 million US dollars, "exactly the same amount as the payment the finance ministry paid up front," Becker said in his affidavit. All three later drew large sums, with Yang taking 16.8 million Namibia dollars, most of which he is said to have paid into an investment fund. Lameck and Mokaxwa are said to have spent money on expensive vehicles, farms and houses. The local daily The Namibian reported Tuesday that Nuctech in China would send officials to Namibia soon. "They are willing to come here to brief us on Nuctech operations and policy," The Namibian quoted ACC boss Paulus Noa as saying. The case could prove embarrassing to Hu Jintao, who has pubicly urged the Communist Party to rid itself of corruption. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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China's export powerhouse expects growth: state mediaBeijing (AFP) July 21, 2009 China's key export province of Guangdong is expecting foreign sales to rise year-on-year in the fourth quarter as it recovers from the global downturn, state media said Tuesday. Guangdong's exports in the second quarter increased by 16.5 percent over the first three months of the year, bolstered by government stimulus measures including higher tax rebates and export credit insurance, Xinhua ... read more |
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