Staff Reporter
ACCOUNTANT Michael Bronkhorst, who was earlier this year taken to court by Petrichor Capital for fraud amounting to N$103 million, has been arrested after being slapped with additional charges of fraud amounting to N$2.7 million, which he allegedly stole from Momentum Trust. Bronkhorst, after his arrest last week, appeared in court this week before Magistrate Jurina Hochobes at the Windhoek Magistrate Court.
In the Momentum matter, Bronkhorst is charged with two counts of fraud. It is alleged that on or about the 24th day of March 2024, in the Khomas-Windhoek district, the accused gave his account number while pretending it belonged to Momentum, thereby accepting clients’ money for his own use.
The charge annexure detailed that the accused, unlawfully and with the intent to defraud, provided bank account details for cash transfers, belonging to Momentum Trust, to a certain Ms. Lind, inducing the complainant to the actual or potential loss of cash totalling N$1.7 million. The court charge sheet further detailed that Bronkhorst, when he gave out and pretended as aforesaid, knew that the account number given belonged to him and not Momentum Trust, and by doing so, profited from the money for his own benefit, thus committing the crime of fraud.
In the second count of fraud, Bronkhorst allegedly provided his account details to a certain Mr. Horn, inducing the victim to an actual or potential loss of cash totalling N$1 million while knowing that the given account number belonged to him and not Momentum Insurance.
In the court proceedings, the State Prosecutor, Eric Naikaku, said, “May the matter be postponed to 15 July 2024, for further investigations.” He added that bail is opposed at this juncture due to the fact that investigations are at a premature stage and the State fears that the accused may interfere with investigations. In addition to this, Naikaku said that the charges Bronkhorst faces are serious and that it would not be in the interest of the public or the proper administration of justice for the accused to be granted bail at this juncture.
In the Petrichor matter, it is alleged that Bronkhorst created fake loan agreements on behalf of clients who were policyholders. This resulted in policy payouts being ceded to Petrichor as security for the loans extended to the clients. In total, the fake loan amounts diverted by Bronkhorst’s scheme for his own use amounted to N$103.6 million.
While Bronkhorst agreed to repay the N$103.6 million, his assets worth N$38 million are not enough to pay back the debt owed to Petrichor Capital, which is above N$100 million. The court in April 2024 secured a provisional sequestration order against Bronkhorst for the sale of his assets to repay his ill-gotten debt.
