An attempt by one of the key figures in the Fishrot fraud, corruption and racketeering case, James Hatuikulipi, to have N$5,75 million released from accounts under a property restraint order has failed.
Hatuikulipi's application for the release of the funds, which he says he needs to pay for his legal representation in his pending criminal trial, was dismissed by judge Claudia Claasen in the Windhoek High Court on Friday.
The money Hatuikulipi wanted to be released is in bank and investment accounts placed under a property restraint order in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.
Prosecutor general Martha Imalwa opposed Hatuikulipi's application for the release of the funds. She alleged that Hatuikulipi did not disclose to the court the whereabouts of US$4,1 million - at that time the equivalent of N$61,8 million - paid into two bank accounts of his company Tundavala Invest in Dubai.
Hatuikulipi informed the court he needs N$5,75 million to pay his legal expenses in the pending criminal case in which he and nine other people are due to be prosecuted on charges based on allegations that they unlawfully received Namibian fishing quotas that were later sold to the Icelandic-owned fishing company group Samherji.
Imalwa alleged that Hatuikulipi failed to make a full disclosure of his assets and liabilities to the court, and said such a disclosure is a precondition for the release of funds to pay his legal costs.
In a sworn statement filed at the court, Hatuikulipi said the bank accounts in Dubai that Imalwa referred to were closed before his arrest near the end of November 2019, and that there are no funds in those accounts.
Imalwa also alleged in an affidavit that Hatuikulipi failed to disclose to the court that he has a tax liability of N$19,4 million in his personal capacity, while a trust of which he is a trustee, Cambadara Trust, has a tax liability of N$33,6 million. Both tax liabilities date from 2014 to 2019.
Hatuikulipi is denying guilt on the charges he is facing and also disputes that he owes the alleged amount in unpaid tax, one of his lawyers, senior counsel Vas Soni, said when Claasen heard oral arguments on Hatuikulipi's application for the release of the funds in May.
