VAT refund scam probe completed

THE 19 people charged with VAT fraud that may have cost the Ministry of Finance more than N$100 million will be asked to plead to the charges they face when making their next court appearance in June.

The investigation of the alleged scam has been completed, public prosecutor Laura Mabuku told magistrate Alweendo Venatius when the 19 accused made their latest appearance in the Windhoek Magistrate's Court yesterday. On a request from Mabuku, magistrate Venatius postponed the case to 21 June, on which date the accused would be asked to plead to the charges. The 19 – three Namibians and 16 Angolan nationals – are accused of having fraudulently claimed value-added tax (VAT) refunds totalling more than N$114 million from the Ministry of Finance from the beginning of 2014 to December 2015.