Forex traders Michael Amushelelo and Gregory Cloete have reached a financial crunch that they are now looking to the State to provide them with legal representation for their upcoming criminal trial. According to their lawyer Kadhila Amoomo, the pair could not come up with sufficient funds to enable them to appoint senior legal counsel of their choice.
“Most of the resources that the accused had were utilised for the formal bail application of accused one (Amushelelo) in the lower court. Maybe the court can show us mercy and postpone the matter to enable us to get funds to appoint senior counsel,” Amoomo told the Windhoek High Court yesterday.
However, Deputy Judge President Hosea Angula said the court cannot be held hostage because the accused cannot afford a private lawyer.
He then advised the pair to consider approaching the Directorate of Legal Aid.
Thus, Amoomo indicated that they will approach the justice ministry so that they may consider furnishing Amushelelo and his co-accused Cloete with a lawyer.
The case was previously postponed to allow Amushelelo and Cloete to appoint senior counsel. Their case was postponed to 21 July for legal aid. The business duo are awaiting trial on 365 counts of fraud, alternatively theft by false pretences, conducting a banking business without authorisation and conducting a Ponzi scheme, tax evasion, tax fraud, failure to pay tax, money- laundering and racketeering. Amushelelo and Cloete are also charged alongside legal…
