The arrest and subsequent extradition to Italy of convicted mafioso and Namibian resident Vito Palazzolo has turned the spotlight on Namibia as a safe haven for fugitives from justice.
At least two other Namibian residents wanted for alleged crimes in other jurisdictions, Jacob (Kobi) Alexander and Boris Bannai, are currently resisting extradition.
Like Palazzolo, they have forged business links and friendships with politically connected members of the Namibian elite, including, in Bennai’s case, the son-in-law of President Hifikepunye Pohamba.
Palazzolo, also known as Roberto von Palace Kolbatschenko, arrived in Namibia in 2006 after staving off extradition attempts from South Africa, for more than 20 years. He bought a house and at least one farm in Namibia.
Arrested while on holiday in Thailand, he was extradited to Italy in December last year and is currently serving a nine-year prison term for mafia-related offences.
There is one known successful extradition of a foreign national from Namibia – Lebanese businessman Fadi Ayoub, who was returned to France in September 2012 to face a rape charge. Ayoub fled France in 1993 after skipping bail and arrived in Namibia in 1999. After two-decades on the run, Ayoub was extradited in 2012. He has since returned to settle in Namibia as a free man after he was acquitted of all charges.
However, others have successfully resisted similar moves by foreign governments.
In 2006 the Namibian Supreme Court upheld German national Hans Juergen Koch’s four-year battle to stave off extradition to Germany to face fraud and tax evasion charges. Koch died in Namibia in 2008.
Alexander has fought US attempts to extradite him to face charges of fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice and witness tampering since 2006, while Bannai has been on Poland’s wanted list since 2010.
Both appear to have benefited from bungling by Namibian officials – or worse. Alexander was granted a work permit despite his alleged failure to disclose his residence in the US and the charges against him.
The Namibian Investment Centre, which falls under the trade and industry ministry, helped expedite his permit, after he promised to invest more than N$300 million in Namibia.
The centre can issue an Investors’ Status Certificate, intended to smoothen residence applications, if an applicant proves he or she has invested more than N$1 million in the country or has N$1 million in his/her bank account.
The magistrate threw out Bannai’s extradition case on grounds that the request failed to reach the court in time. However, the Polish authorities hotly deny this.
In court papers Bannai said he has up to N$300 million in investments in Namibia and that his Namibian company, Purity Manganese, employs about 400 workers and pays about N$2 million a month in salaries.
Vito Palazzolo
The Namibian media linked Palazzolo (born 1947) to questionable diamond polishing licences and reported that he is Zacky Nujoma’s business partner in diamond and uranium deals. Zacky is the son of former president Sam Nujoma.
In 2007, Zacky was quoted dismissing Palazzolo’s organised crime links as “an old CIA story”. Last week, he claimed not to have known about Palazzolo’s past. “Then I did not know him; now things have changed,” he said on the phone.
They had not been business partners, but “merely friends”, he added.
It is understood that in 2010 Italian authorities, working through Interpol, began asking the Namibian government about extradition procedures, and that Italian officials visited Namibia to meet the authorities.
One government source told amaBhungane that the Italians voiced fears that Namibia might not help them, as Palazzolo had managed to stave off extradition while in South Africa for more than two decades.
The source said local police and Interpol started monitoring Palazzolo’s movements. When he got wind of this, the source added, he and Zacky confronted Namibia’s police chief, Inspector General Sebastian Ndeitunga, in his office.
Interviewed last week, Ndeitunga denied being confronted but said he vaguely remembered Zacky affording him “a courtesy visit” in which he introduced his business partner.
“I remember someone who came to my office with Zacky Nujoma. I cannot recall the details,” Ndeitunga said.
Zacky said he recalled the meeting and that it was to seek clarity on claims that Palazzolo was a wanted man. “I wanted to know what is happening since he [Palazzolo] and the media were saying different things.”
He recalled that “some form of communication structure” between Palazzolo and the police, including Interpol, was subsequently set up.
The Italians are said to have initiated a formal extradition process in late 2011. The source said the plan was to arrest Palazzolo on his return from Asia.
However, it was “fortunate that he was arrested somewhere else, as extradition attempts would probably have failed here”, said the law enforcement source.
Boris Bannai
Bannai, also known as Boris Biniashvili (56), is an Israeli who arrived on Namibian shores in about 2008 after doing business on and off in the country since 2001.
Bannai’s main known Namibian associate and alleged business partner is oil exploration millionaire Swapo Ndume, President Hifikepunye Pohamba’s son-in-law.
The two men are regularly seen wining and dining at Windhoek’s posh Hilton Hotel where Bannai occupies a suite. They are known to attend each other’s family events.
Last week Ndume confirmed that he and Bannai “are very good friends” but denied they are business partners.
He said he believed in Bannai’s innocence. The charges Bannai faces in Poland arose from a legitimate business transaction, he said, “now some people got greedy and are trying to take what is not theirs”.
In 2010, the Polish authorities asked the Namibian government to assist their investigations into Bannai, focusing on Purity Manganese, which runs a mine at Otjozondu, near Okahandja.
According to an Interpol document seen by amaBhungane, the Poles accused Bannai of accepting an advance payment of US$4,3 million from a Polish company, Eurostal, for manganese, which he then failed to deliver. The money was then laundered, including to “the accounts of other un-traced entities”.
Bannai did not comment on this specific allegation.
In 2012, Poland applied for Bannai’s extradition to face charges of fraud, money laundering, violating his fiduciary responsibility to his Polish company and manipulating its shareholding to benefit himself and his son David.
According to the Interpol document, the Polish District Court concluded that Bannai was hiding from the Polish law enforcement authorities and had failed to appear when summoned by the public prosecutor’s office.
An Interpol official motivated for Bannai’s arrest in Namibia, saying he was a flight risk. He cited the fact that he left Namibia in December 2011 on an Israeli passport valid until June 2016 and tagged by Interpol to track his movements, but returned in January 2012 using another Israeli passport valid until December 2021 that was not tagged.
Approached for comment, Bannai denied any wrongdoing, saying the Polish authorities had never summoned him.
“I have never had two valid passports and was never on any Interpol list,” he said in an email. “Seems like a number of corrupted criminals including government employees [are] trying to offense (sic) me for personal gains.”
He said he did not need political protection and was unaware that Ndume could give it to him.
Following the Polish extradition plea, Bannai was arrested in Namibia in March 2012 and granted bail of N$1 million. The court ordered him to report weekly to a Namibian Interpol representative.
But his extradition hearing before Windhoek magistrate Ruth Herunga appears to have been botched by justice ministry officials.
Herunga threw out the case when it came before her on the 30th day of Bennai’s arrest, as per the Extradition Act, because not all papers were submitted on time.
However, Poland’s ambassador to South Africa and Namibia, Anna Raduchowska-Brochwicz, said that the extradition request reached Namibia on April 21 – two days before the hearing – and that the Namibian authorities confirmed its arrival.
Raduchowska-Brochwicz said three subsequent requests to Namibia for an explanation – on April 30 2012, October 29 2012 and May 16 last year – had gone unanswered.
A justice ministry source also questioned the failure to submit the documents on time, saying that the ministry had the option of filing the request over the weekend or on Monday before the court proceedings started.
The officials could also have informed Herunga that the request had arrived.
A lawyer, who asked not to be named, questioned why the magistrate threw the case out so early in the day, rather than waiting for near the close of business.
Bannai is now suing the Namibian government for N$10 million for wrongful arrest. AmaBhungane understands that he is back in his native Israel; it is unclear whether he plans to return to Namibia.
AmaBhungane has also learned that between 2002 and 2003 Bannai appeared before the West Virginia Mason County Court in the US on at least seven occasions over alleged offences involving his company Highlanders Alloys, including failure to pay workers and writing bad cheques to suppliers and workers.
In some of these cases he paid fines.
Jacob (Kobi) Alexander
Alexander (born 1952) first arrived in Namibia in about April 2006, but officially settled in the country in July 2006.
In hearings at the Namibian Investment Centre he pledged investments of N$300 million if he received Namibian permanent residence. Court papers indicate that he initially brought in about N$50 million.
Two months later he made headlines in the Namibian media after being arrested at the request of the US government seeking his extradition. A week later he posted bail of N$10 million, a record for Namibia.
Insight Namibia magazine reported that approval of Alexander’s work permit application took a day – another record.
This was disputed by then-Home Affairs permanent secretary Samuel Goagoseb, who said the application took a week. But Goagoseb admitted to Insight that rules were ignored when an earlier permit was granted.
In particular, the Immigration Control Board only received police clearance from Israel, not the US, and allegedly had no idea Alexander was wanted in America.
AmaBhungane has also seen documents showing that Alexander’s work permit application was incomplete, while the Namibian authorities failed to pick up discrepancies between the application forms submitted by him and his wife.
In the US Alexander is wanted on 35 counts emanating from a stocks option backdating scheme he allegedly ran at a New York firm he founded in 1986, Comverse Technology.
US justice department documents seen by amaBhungane put his “ill-gotten gains” at up to US$138 million (R1, 5 billion).
By the time the US government froze Alexander’s bank accounts he is alleged to have moved more than U$64-million (N$700-million) offshore to Israel.
Alexander’s friends in high places in Namibia principally include politically connected businessman Lazarus Jacobs, co-owner of the company Paragon Investments with Desmond Amunyela. Initially a media concern, Paragon is now involved in fishing, property development, mining and hospitality industries.
Jacobs and Amunyela are friends of Prime Minister Hage Geingob, who is set to become the next president of Namibia in March next year, and also have ties with former president Sam Nujoma. Jacobs also chairs the parastatal Communication Regulatory Authority of Namibia.
He told amaBhungane that he and Alexander were friends, not business partners, and described as “unfounded” any suggestion that Alexander was seeking political protection through him.
Yet, in an affidavit to support Kobi’s application for Namibian residency, Jacobs states that they had established a “professional, business and personal relationship”.
Alexander is currently challenging the constitutionality of Namibia’s Extradition Act. In responding papers, former justice minister Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana argued in 2008 that “having successfully delayed his extradition to the US since 2006, [Alexander] is now attempting … to finally terminate any effort to have him extradited to the US”.
Alexander’s lawyer, Louis du Pisani, said his client would not comment.
Namibia’s ministry of justice refused to comment on Bannai or Alexander’s case, saying they were “subject to confidentiality”.
* This article was produced by Tileni Mongudhi, while a Fellow of the M&G Centre for Investigative Journalism (amaBhungane) in Johannesburg.
Comments
james groble-- I meant J.e.w.s but parently there is a lot censorship in this site so some words you just can't say as the system refuses to acxept. I don't understand why. - frankie
james grobler--- The * has a right to seek Israeli citizenship no matter where they are born and what lingo they talk as long as they are *. It's an religious thing. - frankie
i had dealings with boris back in in 2007 and i won the case agianst him.prior to the case i did spent time with his people and him and as far as i know david is not his son but step son and boris is orginaly not an isreali but a georgian how he got to isreal i got no idea but aszi that works for him is an israeli. the wife of boris is what i understood at that time well conected to certain people in Russia - james grobler
Congratulations to the Mail and Guardian (South Africa) and amaBhungane for a brilliant story. Some of us, for years took issue with the Namibian's way of covering stories which was very biased in many respects. At times it dabbled in tribalism, racism and sensationalism. Investigative journalism was never the forte of the Namibian newspaper and was even miles behind newcomers such as Informante and Confidante. Now, you can learn how to cover a story. Learn from the best in the business and although you will never reach half of the Mail and Guardian' s quality, it is never too late to learn. Congratulations anyway. - Witbooi
Drag Sam Nujoma to the International Criminal Court (ICC) with his army, plan and cabinet bandits, only then will the country experience true democracy, freedom and reconciliation and not Sam Nujoma's FAKE democracy, freedom and FAKE reconciliation. He has too much BLOOD on his hands....ONE DAY IS ONE DAY.... - ss
Hambaa??? What an eye opening story at the right time.Now I know whom to vote for. - KaPandu
thanx to them for investing in our country, and thanx for not conducting their criminology in Namibia. pottential fugutives shoiuld also come and invest,, asyrum should be given to millionnare fugitives to come share with us...poor,, but not with the elite crew - TOBIAS
The swapo never had a class. They are a buch of gangsters causing a lots of trouble to people in the north. A long ago I was sitting outside of the railway station in windhoek when a couple old guys were sit beside me and we talk a lot about everything. The guy was asking me if i knew what happened in the north when the swapo come in from Angola. I told him no I don't know than he told me things which now I beleive is the thruth. They come he says and shut right and a bit left and took their food rape woman and force tham to have sex. Than where the South Africans got closer they run like rabbit's back to angola. Of course he said the South Africans burn down the village because they said we hide the gerillas. The swapo where a chicken s.h.i.t. And when Mr Attisari and his co workers at the UN fixed the libaration they just took the power. They were organised and von the election others haven't got any chance. The UN and Attisary where very worried that Namibia become a one party state. It just shown now that their worry wasn't with out any reason. - bark
ASHOK IYER--I don't know if you are stupid or just un-educated pehaps both. - frankie
I don't know how many times I warned you about the swapo but you people never listen. The investigation journalism is the only way to get the truth. I would like to see The Namibian be like this because this isn't their product. I would like to see that the Namibian investigate how the swapo get so rich check out their bank account highlight their transactioner and investigate that ZIM bank which actualy a cover up for swapo money. Check their traficing of corrupt money how they got their properties and valuables and how much they pay for it too. - frankie
This bustards got to be removed take their (which is actualy our) money and trace them out of the country they are nothing but the cancer to Namibia! - bossen
SWAPO is CORRUPT with a capital C. Corrupt to the core! CORRUPTION and TRIBALISM are SWAPO's first and middle names. Whenever there is major corruption involved, Sam Nujoma, Namibia's richest man, and his family are involved. No wonder Sam and his government is so soft in corruption. People, tell me: Do you honestly believe these people were FREEDOM FIGHTERS in exile? This greedy, with no or little brains? People, like Nahas Angula, openly bragging about their "millions" while people are starving. A failed minister and so-called Prime Minister. Namibians must be the most STUPID people in Africa and the world. Many of us knew what what was happening in Namibia since day one! Zacky, also reportedly receioved millions from the Mafia some years ago, remember? Swapo,Swapo, Swapo. And you will still vote for Sam Nujoma and his stupid party of imbeciles? How stupid, profoundly stupid. - oshili
It's a corrupt swapo and their primitive uneducated voters causing the problem. Blinded you with promeses while their and their family rubbed you of everything. Not all Namibians like that and just remember that those should be REMOVED with this election. - bossen
Hi ASHOK IYER - it's shocking to learn the way in which you argue the existence in Namibia of all these personalities who are worldwide labelled as criminals and/or who made themselves guilty of criminal activities. Once a criminal, always a criminal. I can't believe for one moment that, when applying for residence in Namibia, the Inland Ministry wouldn't do some investigation into your background and profile. All these personalities had, with premeditation, been granted residence in Namibia and furthermore on account of their previously engagement with high ranking government officials. Kindly give us some info on the engagement of any of these personalities in any developments or significant investments in Namibia - Namibia is just a save haven for them - it's a pity that the government has gone so far !!! - Freedom Fighter
What a nice article, It feels like a movie....Infact I should call it "The Gangsta's Paradise" - Bernhardt Haraseb
MUMBA.. I never denied the existence of corruption in this country!!! You might be surprised to know that corruption is not endemic to Namibia alone. It is prevalent throughout the world!! Nevertheless, coming back to your point, personally, I believe in giving a person the benefit of the doubt!! If I make friend with a person and later on find out that such a person is a criminal, then it doesn’t make me a criminal too!!! Nor does it justify anyone calling me a criminal supporter!!! Additionally, there’s no proof that these people are criminals!! They are just individuals who are trying to avoid persecution in their respective countries!!! How do you know that such persecution is not motivated by political or other diabolic factors?? What right do we have to pass judgment on any issue when, we don’t have the complete facts with us?? - ASHOK IYER
Ashok Iyer...we all know what's going on here if someone is corrupt he is corrupt period, Swapo or no Swapo. So u will make friends with criminals and expect people to keep quite. simple question to you, why don't we here about Cde Mbumba in all these things? Do u think he doesn't have friends? Simply because he is not corrupt you don't hear his name here. So please shut the Swapo and government discrediting song. - Mafia
This proves to you that Namibia's ruling party is a party of criminals - Estakes
indeed, nowdays the namibia gorvement now become under the contror of mafia man! - Hallelua amen!
I believe that this is just another attempt to discredit the Government & the SWAPO party. All of us make new friends on a regular basis!! So, is the writer implying that, every time I make a new friend, I should first run a complete background check on the individual before becoming friends with him?? These men stand accused of criminal acts in various countries. We still don’t know whether they are genuine criminals or just victims of some insidious political shenanigan!! If you say that we should not give refuge to these men because they stand accused in some other country then, on the same grounds, would you agree that South Korea should deport all North Korean refugees because, technically speaking, those refugees are criminals as per North Korean laws?? Or, does the criminal status of an individual depend on the whims & fancies of one or more individuals?? On the other hand, these gentlemen have not broken any laws in Namibia. They have invested millions in this country and provide bread & butter to a lot of Namibians. So what’s the point of this mud slinging article? - ASHOK IYER
LAND of THE BRAVE! WE CAN and WE DID and WE WILL again - D
Keep the scum in power, and believe what they promise you, because they are taking the whole country for a jolly good ride. Suckers, vote them in again. - John
Mafias all over the world, if you have millions please come to Namibia and enjoy your easy gained dollars here. Become in-laws of well connected politicians and you will become untouchables. lol. - samuel
And so are many other countries in the world.... - Katja
The land of scape goats.Fat cats get fatter,poor get poorer.Feed your nation with bread crumbs and left overs and call yourselves leaders.One of the reasons I am motived to go and vote smmh - really?
And when will mr Pohamba make available the report on the N$640m GIPF-loans ? Also a pot of worms - our country has become rotten under the Swapo goverment ! - Freedom Fighter
Our goverment must pay back the tax that they have received from such criminal business then. - Hallelua amen!
Nu Garail is afraid he will loose his millions too. The article is straight forward unless you were reading it upside down... - Mafia
The Swapo government, and the president in particular, must never ever tells anybody in the world how concerned they are about corruption and to what extent government is fighting corruption - it all nonsense. Many ministers and officials in government are enriching themselves out of corruption. - Freedom Fighter
that why corruption is too much in namibia cos you are hiding corrupte elements - bull
Lol! That mean the son of sem nuyom and the son-inlaw of pohamba they olso conected with mafia gag? It insane way, they had jeopadaizing the good reputation of the name namibia! Why they invlving in this dirty crocks vakwetu? - Hallelua amen
Where is the millions of dollas that had lost from gorvement? Who killed rasarusa kandara? Whose had locked up the 4years kid in prison whith his mother, sothat the kid tobe killed? Please tell us - Hallelua amen
wow indeed, Namibia is a fugitive's paradise. - Wambe tu zuwe...
Nu Garail, that is a fine peace of investigative journalism, a retrospective peace that reminds us Namibians that we are usually hoodwinked with money. This gives Namibia a bad image tarnishing our integrity that we can actually be bought by someone with a fat wallet. Remember the notorious Swiss Banks or some obscure islands, one being the Isle of Man where laundered money can easily be stashed. We Namibians should shun such kind of behaviours. Make one think. A sovereign country itself cannot become greedy, some rotten individuals within the country may. - the juno
@nu garail stop defending the truth the article is straight forward. - spoon
its a shame for the land of the brave to be allowing wanted criminals to inter the country and to the high ranking grn officials that we call our so called leaders. - spoon
What a stupid article! Difficult to read and it does not make sense at all. What is the point? Please editor do your job! - Nu Garail
If you tell Mr Noa the ACC leader, he will pretend as if he do not know this. he will never act because he is a toothless puppy to those elite. at the end of the day he praised the ACC of doing the job who is fooling who??? shame. where is President Pohamba with his empty promise words in corruption on this case??? A shame to the Namibian government with its Justice window shopping. - Isak Hamunyela
Go to Namibia, pay off some political heavyweights, high ranking GRN officials and all those connected to them.........AND YOUR STAY IN NAMIBIA IS GUARANTEED, FOR SURE NAMIBIA IS A SAFE HEAVEN FOR CRIMINALS!!! - KN
Eish, people are surely NOT cutting off the hand that feeds them here. - Meita
Namibia Land of the BRAVE, totally BRAVE enough to house any or all fugitives around typical Namibia. Og no man. - Dina
When looking at all the cases mentioned in this report, one gets the impression that all these persons, in all respects with serious and doubtful records, have been granted entrance into Namibia due to lack of perceptiveness and wisdom of the government.. They have furthermore permitted stay in Namibia on account of the influence of high ranking Swapo elite - and subsequently for personal gain. - Freedom Fighter
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