The Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) has uncovered a fraudulent scheme linked to the Mass Tax Refund Initiative currently being implemented. The detected scheme has resulted in the illicit payout of tax refunds of over N$666-thousand between January and April 2025, to 47 taxpayers.
To date, a NamRA staff member has been suspended, while the secondment of an official from the Ministry of Finance has been reversed, with three other suspects having been arrested and appeared in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court last week. An internal investigation revealed that the recently registered taxpayers, predominantly unemployed individuals with no tax liability, were fraudulently processed for refunds relating to periods dating back to 2011. The registration would in most instances be done without the knowledge of the concerned persons, using their identity documents and personal banking details. Once the refunds were paid out, the money was distributed amongst the perpetrators, including through mobile and wallet banking platforms.
“In light of these developments, NamRA strongly cautions the public to exercise vigilance and not to provide personal banking details or identification documents to third parties for taxrelated transactions. The Agency emphasises that tax refunds are processed directly via NamRA offices and authorised platforms. NamRA remains steadfast in upholding Zero Tolerance to Corruption, highest standards of integrity, transparency and public trust and reiterates its commitment to rooting out fraudulent practices that undermine tax administration,” Yarukeekuro Ndorokaze, NamRA’s Chief Strategic Communications and Support Engagements said in a statement.