Central bank sting bags two Chinese

Two Chinese men were arrested by the Anti Corruption Commission law enforcement personnel following a successful sting operation initiated by the Bank of Namibia.
The Bank of Namibia said in a statement released earlier this week the Chinese citizens were arrested after an attempt to bribe two senior bank officials to release a large sum of money for remittance to China. In the meantime, the funds have been blocked by the bank.
“Corruption is a social evil that all Namibians should reject and root out from our society” the bank said announcing the outcome of the sting operation.
Explaining the events, the bank said “During February 2016, the Bank of Namibia blocked funds that were acquired by two Chinese citizens and deposited in a local bank account. The Chinese nationals wanted to send the funds to China on the same day the funds were deposited. The bank became suspicious of the transaction and blocked the funds in terms of the Exchange Control Regulations.”
Last month the two Chinese approached the Bank of Namibia offering to discuss the blocked funds. When they realised the bank was not going to release the funds in line with exchange control regulations, the Chinese nationals offered to pay two senior officials N$10,000 each to unblock their bank account and remit the N$1.7 million to China.
The Bank of Namibia and the Anti Corruption Commission worked together and set up a sting operation. This operation led to the arrest of the two Chinese nationals who paid the bank officials N$10,000.00 each. The transaction was covertly monitored by members of the Anti Corruption Commission who arrested and took them into custody for contravention of section 34 of Act 8/2003. The bank account and the money remain blocked and is still subject to Exchange Control Regulations.