Photo: allafrica.com French investigating judges are still questioning the monthly payments made by the nuclear energy company, Areva, to President Hage Geingob between 2008 and 2009 "while he was a trade minister".
These details are part of two stories published by the Agence France-Presse (AFP), French state-owned news entity, on Sunday.
The article centres around the transactions approved by the former head of Areva's mining branch, Sébastien de Montessus. De Montessus was charged on 29 March for "bribery of a foreign public official", "private bribery" and "breach of trust", the report said.
"Magistrates (investigating judges) are also wondering about monthly payments of US$10 000 in 2008 and 2009 paid to the then Namibian minister of commerce [trade] and industry, current President Hage Geingob," AFP said.
Another AFP story published yesterday said that French officials bluntly described the payments to Geingob as "illicit monthly transfers".
Geingob, through his lawyer, threatened to take action against the French news organisation if they did not retract the article.
The French news agency relied on sources close to the investigation in France while an article found on French weekly newspaper, Le Journal du Dimanche, said the payments to Geingob were made from April 2008 to December 2009 when he was trade minister.
The AFP article said the French judges were concerned about several transactions approved by De Montessus.
The payment to Geingob is not necessarily news since it has been known for years that he was paid US$300 000 (N$3 million) for helping a Canadian speculative company called UraMin to renew its uranium licence in Namibia.
UraMin sold the uranium licence to French firm Areva in 2007.
The timeline of the payments, as reported by AFP, contradicts Geingob's previous comments that he was paid when he was a Swapo backbencher in the National Assembly and not when he was the trade minister.
The consultancy was not the only avenue where Geingob assisted Areva.
Geingob, as trade minister approved a plan to give Trekkopje (owned by Areva) the chance to avoid paying taxes for five years, a privilege not extended to other companies in the uranium mining industry, such as Rössing Uranium and Langer Heinrich.
The exemptions were given despite the ministries of finance and mines opposing them. The argument is that the others did not qualify for them
AFP said another focus of the court case is on the payments made by Areva disbursed almost US$6,9 million in 2009 and 2010 to United Africa Group (UAG), a wide-ranging conglomerate, that belongs to Martha Namundjebo-Tilahun and Haddis Tilahun.
It's unclear how that amount, at the 2009 exchange rate around N$83 million, was used or what it was meant for. The Namibian reported in 2012 that Areva paid about N$30 million to United Africa Group (UAG) shortly after the Namibian company had bought shares in Areva's desalination plant.
AREVA-URAMIN MARRIAGE
The controversial Areva transaction started in 2004 when UraMin bought a mining company that held the mineral rights to the Trekkopje mine in the Namib Desert for US$4 million in June 2005.
In 2007, nuclear giant Areva (now known as Orano), bought UraMin's Trekkopje uranium mine in Namibia for US$2,5 billion at the height of a uranium bull market. This sale included its mineral rights in South Africa, Namibia and the Central African Republic.
This was a disastrous miscalculation for Areva that is still struggling to recover. Years later, Areva conceded that the mine was worth half the purchase price.
The transaction continues to haunt Areva bosses such as the former boss of Areva, Anne Lauvergeon - known as 'Atomic Anne' - and De Montessus who facilitated the transaction. De Montessus visited Namibia in June 2008.
Geingob told The Namibian in June 2015 that he helped UraMin to renew its licence, and that he "received payment, which was part of an amount of US$300 000".
He denied any wrongdoing and said he gave away N$2 million of the N$3 million he earned to two unnamed South Africans who allegedly introduced him to the controversial transaction.
The President is yet to explain why he would hand over more than two-thirds of his fee earned from supposedly diligent consultancy work to people who merely alerted him about the project.
He has also not explained exactly what was involved in the "consultancy work" and has not answered the question of who paid him for his consultancy.
THREAT
The President has over the years dismissed questions about the Areva transaction and blamed the media for having an agenda against him.
His stance continued yesterday when he threatened to take action against the French media organisations that produced the latest article.
Geingob's lawyer, Sisa Namandje, wrote a letter to AFP and Radio France Internationale (RFI) demanding that they retract the article.
RFI used the article on their website after getting it from news agency AFP.
Namandje said in the letter that the allegations of corruption between UraMin and Areva had nothing to do with Geingob.
It appears Geingob expected that the investigation in France will not focus on corruption as it is now unfolding.
According to his lawyer, Geingob understood, as far back as 2012, that the French investigation was focusing on the inflation of the price paid by Areva to UraMin.
"This explains why he has, to this day, [not] been approached by any investigating authority over the allegations of the UraMin/Areva transaction price inflation, despite the investigation having been ongoing for over five years now," Geingob's lawyer said.
This investigation has taken years to charge alleged culprits. De Montessus was only indicted last month for bribing public officials, after years of investigations.
"We must emphasise and highlight that Geingob has never had any discussion with De Montessus regarding the UraMin/Areva transaction," Namandje said.
Geingob's lawyer said the suggestion that Geingob was paid by Areva is false because the President never received any money from Areva.
"There are no payments received by Geingob from Areva," the attorney said.
"We, therefore, have been instructed to demand, as we at this moment do, an immediate retraction of the above identified untruths and imputation of dishonesty towards Geingob," Namandje said.
French investigating judges have over the year uncovered some of the country's biggest political and financial scandals.
The Economist magazine described the judges in an online article.
"They exposed the "fake jobs" affair at the Paris town hall, dating to Jacques Chirac's term as mayor; several of his close former colleagues have been found guilty, and the ex-president is still under investigation," the magazine said.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was sent to trial last month for corruption and influence peddling.
