A British citizen, Walter Anderson, had an unhappy landing at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport last Saturday as he was nabbed by police and jailed for stealing over P2million before skipping the country in February.

The 35-year old Quantity Surveyor is accused of stealing from his former employers, Stefanutti Stocks Botswana Building Company. According to court papers, on January 21st this year, Anderson transferred P1,001,818.85 to his personal account. Before his employers could notice the illegal transaction, Anderson is said to have repeated the same crime on February 29 when he transferred  P1,268,762,05 into his account.

The court heard that Anderson then fled to Azerbaijan, a country at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. Last week when he came to Botswana on a business trip en-route to Zimbabwe, he was nabbed by the police and was taken to Broadhurst magistrates court on Monday.

State prosecutor Lesedi Seloka’s application for Anderson’s remand was granted after he convinced the court that the Brit was a flight risk. “Investigators have not been able to have any of his bank accounts frozen. He does not have a permanent address of residence where he can be traced when the need arises. We are not aware of any repatriation arrangement between the Botswana and Azerbaijan governments where he currently lives and should he flee we may not be able to trace him,” he said.

Anderson was not asked to enter a plea but was advised to engage an attorney before the next appearance in court.

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