Stina Wu’s employee linked to seal genital debacle

CONTROVERSIAL Chinese businesswoman Qiaoxia ‘Stina’ Wu’s employee was the focal person in the process of exporting seal bull genitals to China in December last year.

This was after Wu repeatedly denied any involvement by her or her company in the saga.

New information links Wu to the attempted exportation of a parcel containing 20 kilogrammes of seal bull genitals, worth about N$1 million, to China in December.

Chinese authorities in Hong Kong then flagged the shipment and alerted Namibia that suspicious cargo from Namibia was not accompanied by the relevant Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) documentation and had been intercepted. CITES aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species.

Authorities in Namibia are also investigating the possibility that the exportation of the said parcel violated customs and excise laws, laws pertaining to controlled wildlife products and trade, animal health laws, and the prevention of organised crime. Authorities are also investigating the fact that the declared value of the seal genitals was US$407, approximately N$7 300, while it was actually worth about N$1 million, further prompting investigators to assess whether tax evasion or other illicit activities were involved.

In February, NamRA confirmed that a joint investigations task team had been assembled to look into the matter. The task team consisted of officials from NamRA, the police, and the ministries of health and environment.

The Issue has established that a senior employee at Wu’s At Helmsman Group, Lynette Majiedt, was in charge of exporting the parcel out of Namibia on behalf of Virgo Biotechnology, an entity owned by Min ‘Charlie’ Xie, also a close business associate of Wu.

A Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) clearing and forwarding instruction form indicates that Majiedt was the contact person and also the person authorising the exportation of the parcel on behalf of Virgo Biotechnology. Her telephone number and an At Helmsman Group email address were also provided on the form. The form also bears a NamRA date stamp of 25 December 2024. The document was provided to The Issue by Xie.

Media reports indicated that Majiedt worked as Wu’s personal assistant at some point. A basic desktop search also shows that she has been in charge of hiring staff for Wu’s At Helmsman Group as well as recently being listed as head of finance or general inspector of the At Helmsman Group.

Majiedt has not responded to detailed questions sent on 9 March, seeking clarification about her role at both At Helmsman Group and Virgo Biotechnology.

The Issue has also seen email communications between Majiedt and Transworld Cargo agents discussing the exportation of the seal genitals. Wu was copied into one of the emails, dated 14 January. Wu did not respond to questions sent to her lawyer, Sisa Namandje, on Tuesday.

Transworld Cargo spokesperson Frit Kaufmann, in March, confirmed to The Issue that their client for the exportation of the seal genitals to China was Virgo Biotechnology, and that Majiedt was the contact person in the transaction. 

Kaufmann said that it is not the clearing agent’s responsibility to obtain the necessary permits for the exportation of goods like seal genitals, but that of the client.

LEGAL THREATS

On 7 March, Wu’s lawyer Namandje issued a statement distancing his client from The Issue’s report linking her and her company to the case and also denying Wu or her company, At Helmsman Group, was involved.

“There is absolutely no truth in the allegations. The article appears to have been published with the sole intention to cause reputational damage to our client,” read Namandje’s statement. The statement further states that Wu has no connection with the alleged exportation of the said seal bull genitals; that she has no connection to Virgo Biotechnology; and that Virgo Biotechnology’s dealings with Uukumwe Youth Empowerment Consortium, where they bought the seal genitals from, and Chung Kee Seafood Trading Company, the intended recipient in China, are all above legal reproach.

Namandje also stated that his client was in the process of obtaining a legal opinion on whether she should institute further legal action against The Issue.

Namandje’s statement further clarifies that Virgo entered into a sales agreement with Uukumwe on 18 December 2024. Uukumwe had the necessary legal permits, licences and authorisation to harvest seal bull genitalia. A tax invoice was then issued to Virgo for the sale of 976 seal bull genitalia at the purchase price of N$900 018.89. Following the transaction an application to export the seal genitals as CITES-listed species was made to the relevant authorities by Uukumwe in favour of Chung Kee Seafood Trading Company. Chung Kee was the company buying the seal genitals from Virgo Biotechnology. Virgo then engaged Transworld Cargo, a clearing agent, to handle the exportation to China, which, according to Namandje, was also done above board and within the confines of the law.

“Our clients were also shown a release order granted to the clearing agent by NamRA for the seal genital packages to be exported,” said Namandje in the statement. He added that the documentation in the matter does not show any “iota of illegalities alleged in the (The Issue’s) article”.

CONTRADICTIONS

Virgo Biotechnology owner Xie, in February, told The Issue that he did not under-declare the value of the seal products he tried to export to China in December. He said the 200 kilogram sent to China at the time had no commercial value and that it was donated by Uukumwe for testing purposes and that the seal genitals purchased for N$900 000 were still in the country.

Julius Nyerere Namoloh, Uukumwe’s Chairman, contradicted Xie’s claims. On Thursday he said that they never gave Xie and Virgo any donations. He said on 19 December last year, Uukumwe had two transactions with Virgo. The first was the sale of 965 seal bull genitals from its 2024 harvest season quota allocation. The consignment was sold for N$900 007.25.

He said Virgo also took possession of Uukumwe’s 667 seal genitals harvested in 2023.

“At the time of the sale, the 2023 genitals were not priced, as their quality could only be determined after lab testing was conducted,” he said, adding that the two parties agreed to negotiate a price at a later stage once the testing had been concluded.