By
Faustin Kapama, Dar es Salaam TANZANIA
The
Tanzania’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) yesterday asked the Corruption
and Economic Crimes Division of the High Court to confiscate as government
property worth 16-billion shillings ($6.89 million), proceeds of a pyramid
scheme operated by two foreigners.
The foreigners,
according to the application for forfeiture orders, are Manon Elisabeth
Hubenthal, a resident of Greven in Germany and Frank Robert Ricketts, who
resides in Blackwats, in the United Kingdom.
Both are directors and
shareholders of IMS Marketing Tanzania Limited. The application has been
supported by two affidavits of State Attorney Estazia Wilson and Investigator
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Fadhili, detailing how the foreigners
were involved in the crimes of conducting the pyramid scheme and money
laundering.
In the submissions to
support the application, DPP Biswalo Mganga, who was assisted by Principal
State Attorneys Shadrack Kimario and Christopher Msigwa told Judge Elinaza
Luvanda that the forfeiture order was necessary to prevent offenders from
benefiting from the proceeds of crimes.
According to the prosecution,
it was sad to note that several people, including government officials and
religious leaders, were involved in the pyramid scheme and invested some
millions of money to enrich themselves, but to the detriment of the country’s
economy.
“You can imagine one
religious leader took 100m/-offerings and sow such money in the pyramid scheme.
We believe that if the
forfeiture order is granted, these government and religious leaders will stop
from engaging in these dirty games. It will deter others from committing
similar crimes,” the DPP said.
Expounding, the
prosecution asked the High Court to confiscate two bank accounts with a total
sum of $1,351,597.79 and another account with €5,377,306.56, both held in the
name of IMS Marketing Tanzania Limited at Bank of Africa (BOA), Bank Limited.
Relying on any other
prayer for any other order the court could deem fit and just to grant, the DPP
also asked the Court to order BOA Bank Limited to pay interests for the money
for having remained in possession of such huge money since January 19, 2018.
The judge is set to
deliver the ruling on April 3, 2020. It was submitted that on January 19, 2014,
the two foreigners came to Tanzania and registered IMS Marketing Tanzania
Limited, a company which was given by Kinondoni Municipal Council a business
licence of operating marketing services business.
The prosecution
submitted that neither the dealing in crypto currency nor collection of funds
from members of the public is among the purposes of the business for which the
company was registered as per the Memorandum and Articles of Association.
On diverse dates, the
two foreigners opened the bank accounts after registering the company, which it
was established later that it had relations with IMS International Marketing
Services of Singapore.
Such a Singaporean
company, the prosecution further charged, had a close link and part of Onecoin
Limited, a company founded in April 2014 in Gibraltar and had offices in
Bulgaria, the United Arabs Emirates (UAE) and Hong Kong.
“IMS Marketing Tanzania
Limited, IMS International Marketing Services and Onecoin Limited are operating
a pyramid scheme that is a predicate offence of money laundering,” the
prosecution submitted.
It was alleged further
that the operations of Onecoin Limited and subsidiary companies in various
jurisdictions had been stopped and their bank accounts frozen for its
complicity in money laundering offences arising from a scheme that was the same
as pyramid scheme.
Following such a
stoppage of operations, Onecoin Limited advertised on her Facebook account and
online website that members should pay their trade packages and deposits
through the bank accounts maintained at BOA Bank.
On different dates,
16,720,858,579.47 was received from three bank accounts. Such amount comprises
$1,351,597.79 in two USD accounts and another €5,377,306.56 the Euro account.
Considering such
evidence, the DPP filed an economic case against the two at the Kisutu Resident
Magistrates’ Court in Dar es Salaam on three charges of conspiracy to commit an
offence, money laundering and unlawful operating a pyramid scheme.
Since the accused were
at large, the prosecution applied and obtained an arrest warrant against them.
The arrest warrant was
published, but they could not show up. It was at that point in time when the
DPP filed the application for forfeiture orders before the High Court.
–
Daily News
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