Staff Reporter
MARLIEN Conradie, a 36-year-old Outjo-born financial manager who is accused of stealing about N$41 million from her employer for almost a decade without being noticed, has launched an application in the High Court, making another attempt at freedom after being denied bail in the lower Magistrates’ Court in January 2026.
Conradie was arrested on 7 November 2025 on charges of fraud and contravening section 6 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA) of 2004. The State alleges that money flowed like a river from the accounts of her employer, Western Investments Namibia, as Conradie redirected payments from vendors or suppliers of companies in the Western Investments Namibia group into her own bank account before payments were made.
The alleged theft is said to have taken place from 2016 to 2025, with the illicit transactions only uncovered during an audit in April 2026, wherein it was noticed that two payments made by Vodu Logistics and Investment Services had been made into an account belonging to Conradie. This was, however, just the tip of the iceberg, as subsequent investigations uncovered millions of payments redirected into three different accounts belonging to the accused.
The newfound ill-gotten wealth is said to have allegedly evaporated into a life of luxury as Conradie escaped into a whirlwind of travel and luxury purchases, with Conradie spending large amounts such as over N$300,000 in London-based luxury department stores such as Harrods, and another N$200,000 spent at Louis Vuitton, among many other brand-name shops.
Conradie’s lawyer, Johan van Vuuren, in court documents, pleaded that the court grant his client bail in the amount of N$50,000, stating that there is no proof that Conradie would abscond.
“During a meeting with the complainant and its lawyer on 16 May 2025, she was informed that she would be locked up for fraud,” van Vuuren said. Conradie was only arrested some months later in November 2025.
He added that Conradie is the mother of an infant baby, who was eight months old at the time of the first bail application, citing Namibian laws that protect the rights of children. Van Vuuren also added that there is little chance his client will interfere with witnesses or police investigations as she does not know any other witnesses other than Abraham Collard, Western Investments Namibia’s chief financial officer.
Van Vuuren further stressed that the High Court appeal is being heard just short of six months after the bail application, bearing in mind that auditors were already appointed at the stage of the bail application. “The investigating officer had about six months since the bail application to interview further witnesses. The State could not adduce reliable evidence in rebuttal of the appellant’s evidence in respect of interference. The State must adduce evidence that there is a reasonable prospect that the appellant will tamper with witnesses. It is submitted that the issue of interference has been overtaken by the lapse of time since the bail application and can no longer stand as a legitimate ground of opposition to bail,” van Vuuren stressed.
The appeal is fiercely contested by State Prosecutor Ian Malumani, who argued that the State has a strong case against Conradie, as the investigating officer in this matter testified that he was in possession of banking extracts that indicated that Conradie had transferred substantial amounts of money from her employer’s bank account to hers.
“The learned Magistrate found that the applicant had failed to adduce minimal evidence to counter the evidence of the investigating officer on the N$40 million loss of funds alleged to have been stolen by her,” Malumani said.
Reiterating remarks by the magistrate who initially denied Conradie bail, citing that the large magnitude of the alleged theft had shocked the public conscience, Malumani said the courts should not be seen as condoning white-collar crimes while only condemning violent crimes.
FRAUD: Marlien Conradie is slated to hear the outcome of her latest bail appeal application on 29 June 2026. Photo: Contributed
