Open letter

ANONYMOUS WRITES:Corruption, Theft, Embezzlement in Deceased Estates.Cases concerning the financial abuse of susceptible individuals are rising in Namibia. As Estate Agents/Brokers, we are compelled by the FIA and EAA to protect the financial interests of our clients.Everyday, I receive updates from the FIC on the ongoing development of mechanisms to fight financial crimes. There are very strict protocols put in place that we in the property sector have to adhere to, failure to do so may hold hefty fines of up to N$100 million or imprisonment of up to 20 years.Because of the mechanisms put in place, it is almost impossible for us as property practitioners to even think of indulging in illegal business practices.Such is not the case with the Master of the High Court (Deceased Estates Administration).Estate Administrators / appointed attorneys, sees a very huge loophole when administering deceased estates. There are no known control mechanisms to regulate how Estate Administrators are handling the funds of deceased estates. Imagine handing over an estate worth N$10 million to a law firm, that law firm is only entitled to 3.5% of the total value of that estate which is about N$350,000 but you find that such a law firm has misappropriated up to N$2,000,000 of beneficiaries&#039; money.When beneficiaries report misappropriation of funds to the Master, what the MoHC does is just to remove the attorney without conducting investigations with subsequent criminal charges.As an Estate Practitioner most of my agencies dealings are in deceased estates, and in the past year I have sold over N$6,000,000 worth of Estate Late properties, but the administrator which I was working closely with has misappropriated such funds. The Deputy Master removed him but no further actions were taken against the individual. I have then reported the matter to the FIC and submitted relevant paperwork, to which after investigation they will now make their submissions to the ACC and police if necessary.This law firm has not just misappropriated funds on estates which I worked on but a collective N$12,800,000 has been misappropriated by that said individual from various estates.In one incident I instructed my conveyance attorneys to transfer the funds of one particular estate directly to the Masters Guardian Fund and not to the Estate Late Account, because I just found out in time what these people were busy with and had to take an action immediately because I knew for a fact once that money enters the estate late account that money is history.All this could have been avoided if the Master of the High Court was strict on their financial control systems. Estate Administrators work with Power of Attorneys which are being abused. And I understand PoA’s are there to make work easier and faster but what’s the use to give a PoA if beneficiaries lose their money.It’s very heart breaking to see people lose their money to those who were entrusted by the master and the beneficiaries themselves.I suggest to the Master of the High Court, to amend the Administration of Estates as follows:1. The Master of the High Court should create employment by appointing permanent attorneys that will strictly only be working with Administration of Estates just like private lawyers do or:2. The notion of Power of Attorney must be abolished so that should any transaction be done, the Executor themselves is called in to sign all the relevant paperwork or:3. The notion of Estate Late account must be abolished so that all the funds of the estate are held in the Guardian Fund of the Master. (Most of the stealing happens in Estate Late accounts).It is very difficult to recover lost monies from individuals and it is sadder that the Master of the High Court does nothing about it. Estate Administrators make themselves guilty of theft and embezzlement but the Master of the High Court makes a civil suit an option which is not supposed to be the case. Once an Estate Administrator is found to havemisappropriated funds he/she must be criminal.I call on the Deputy Master especially, to look into this matter, as a priority case, people are crying. People are suffering. Some attorneys are even so rude to the beneficiaries, when beneficiaries ask for their account statements they don&#039;t give. It&#039;s very sad.

Open letter

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Republikein 2025-05-01

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Open letter

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Republikein 2025-05-01

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