Saturday, 22.11.2008 - Welcome to web.com.na! Online: 1 Members, 23 Guests You are not logged in! Home | Forums   Forum Your last visit was: Saturday, 22.11.2008, 01:14 [ Search Forum ] Forum Home : Namibia : Political Discussions Displaying all 14 posts: Post Views: 901 Jacob ('Kobi') Alexander to go or to stay? Sacramento Number Posts: 287 Last Post: 21.11.2008, 09:57 [ View User's Posts ] Wednesday, 20. August 2008 at 10:26 Alexander is wanted in the US on charges relating to allegations that he had committed fraud with the receipt of stock options in Comverse Technology Inc, a New York-based company that he had helped found in 1982 and ran until early 2006. However During his stay in Nam, the Millionaire has invested heavily in the Namibian economy (although most of his investments are purely business) work was created for the Namibian and tenders awarded to Namibian company. Kobi invested mostly at the coastal town of Walvis bay, Kobi Alexander, in a court affidavit stated that he transferred more than N$120,7 million, belonging to him and his wife, to Namibia of this money, over N$70 million has so far been invested in Namibia, Alexander claims. But now, Some are saying the man is a criminal who should go and answer to the charges against him in the state, get cleared and return to Namibia, or should simply declared Persona non grata in Namibia, because Namibia can not afford to become a safe haven for wanted fugitives. The legal battle may also have a stain in the Namibian US relationship. Some conservatives and Religious persons I spoke to are saying that, it is dirty money until Kobi proof otherwise, I say He is innocent till proven guilty, they say why is he contesting his deportation if he is sure to be not guilty of anything? What are you saying? Re: Jacob ('Kobi') Alexander to go or to stay? NANIC Number Posts: 71 Last Post: 14.11.2008, 12:00 [ View User's Posts ] Wednesday, 20. August 2008 at 11:17 Money laundering in short!!!!!!!!!!!! NANIC Re: Jacob ('Kobi') Alexander to go or to stay? Sacramento Number Posts: 287 Last Post: 21.11.2008, 09:57 [ View User's Posts ] Thursday, 21. August 2008 at 02:19 Namic, so you are saying we should hand him over immediately to face music in the States? Re: Jacob ('Kobi') Alexander to go or to stay? NANIC Number Posts: 71 Last Post: 14.11.2008, 12:00 [ View User's Posts ] Thursday, 21. August 2008 at 10:15 Namic?next tym spell my name correctly shiveli ?anyway 2 answer ur Q the guy must go coz namibia without his money or havin it will stay a beautiful namibia !!! what he is doing is turn his dirty money to clean money by investing in our economy ! NANIC Re: Jacob ('Kobi') Alexander to go or to stay? Boerseun Number Posts: 224 Last Post: 12.11.2008, 13:36 [ View User's Posts ] Thursday, 21. August 2008 at 14:26 Just my 2 cents worth.... Building houses is NOT investment in the economy. For investment to be benificial, there has to be long term job creation and value adding. By building hundreds of homes, he actually FLOODS the local housing market ( oversupply) which means a DROP in real estate prices. ( ie every houseowner in Walvis LOOSES money because his home is worth less) This is not good. We already see estate agents struggling to sell a house in less than 18 months. Many agents HAVE NOT SOLD A SINGLE HOUSE this year in Walvis. If the value of the property drops below the mortage bond value, then we have the same scenario as the US has with its Credid Crunch. If the man invested in Industry, or Irrigation projects, I'd call it investment, and allow him to stay AS LONG AS HE DOES NOT BREAK THE LAW HERE. As things are now, I say send him back. He IS guilty, after all, and he KNOWS it. Re: Jacob ('Kobi') Alexander to go or to stay? Kachokwe Number Posts: 139 Last Post: 19.11.2008, 13:47 [ View User's Posts ] Thursday, 21. August 2008 at 14:55 For the sake of Peace and good relationship with US, the guy must go back and face the jugement. But on my side he still innocent till proven guilt. What he has done to Namibia, whether its investment or not I think it was on his own feel will therefore, it cannot be used to shield the justice. [Post edited by: Kachokwe on 21/8/08 2:57 PM] Re: Jacob ('Kobi') Alexander to go or to stay? Sacramento Number Posts: 287 Last Post: 21.11.2008, 09:57 [ View User's Posts ] Friday, 22. August 2008 at 02:24 Boerseun Investment or not, the issue of housing is a crucial one my brother, it is the base of the hierarchy of needs remember. Manny would jump to the news that there is a drop in housing price (especially your low and middle class), it is so crazy this days, Estate agents did not sell a house in 18 months not because there is flooding of the market by Kobi but because those who need houses cant simply afford them, that is the truth, and as much as I would like to credit you on your assessment about Kobi's so called investment, I challenge you on the issue of need for housing. Unless there is a real (perhaps local) solution, many might continue to acknowledge the likes of Kobi for opening up the housing market. Walvis Bay is terribly expensive and only a few can afford to own property there but our people need houses and that is the fact. Re: Jacob ('Kobi') Alexander to go or to stay? Boerseun Number Posts: 224 Last Post: 12.11.2008, 13:36 [ View User's Posts ] Sunday, 24. August 2008 at 23:52 Sacramento, The point remains, if house values drop to below the mortage values at the bank, we will face economic disaster. If you bought a house valued at N$ 500 000 and financed the 500 000 with a bank, the bank has the propery as security should you default. If the value of that house (and all similar property) drops to N$ 300 000 , the banks stand the chance to loose a lot of money. They will compensate by charging HIGHER intrest rates, especially for first time buyers, and will also need colateral other than the house itself ( like a large deposit, for example) All this will primarily afffect people in the lower price bracket for buying a house. In my view, the housing problem has to be solved with a combination of DECENTRILASATION, as well as rural development/job creation. A hundred or so houses built by Kobi Alexander will not even house the inflow of Windhoeks job seekers for one week. Building houses is not development - but remember, if other areas of development is sucessful, then building houses will come as a natural side product. ( i.e. create jobs, and incomes, and houses WILL get build if people want to buy them, regardless of K.A. or China Construction, or build together.) Re: Jacob ('Kobi') Alexander to go or to stay? Tiara Number Posts: 354 Last Post: 20.11.2008, 10:53 [ View User's Posts ] Monday, 25. August 2008 at 01:37 He is a crook and he should return to the U.S. to face criminal charges made against him. If he was not guilty why would he then fled the U.S at first place? No way can Namibia afford to become a safe haven for wanted fugitives...ja,sure I understand that he has invested $2,9 million in real estate project and runs a $20,000 per year scholarship in Namibia but that doesn't make him an "angel" that money is of ill - gotten gains......justice has to be done and if he is really not guilty as he is claiming to be than fine...... Re: Jacob ('Kobi') Alexander to go or to stay? Sacramento Number Posts: 287 Last Post: 21.11.2008, 09:57 [ View User's Posts ] Monday, 25. August 2008 at 02:05 Bourseun Don’t miss understand me hear, I have no doubt that you are right in your argument from your own prospective, unfortunately when I argue, my concern is usually about the ordinary people, the guy who cant afford a 300 000 Dollar house (no collateral no permanent job) but who can save up money and buy his asset (as small as it might look in some eyes) Cash. The cheaper the property, the better for this guy. And we shouldn’t be mixing up things, a housing project for the low income group has no effect on the real estate business, and that is the fact. This is becoz the beneficiaries cant access the normal market. I spoke to Kobi the other day when I told him “ look, you are risking your hard earned( maybe easy earned) stash becoz you will be deported eventually” he said to me that it doesn’t matter any way, and that he will be glad if ordinary Namibians can benefit from his effort( Robin Hood?) I didn’t tell him this but I thought he was just trying to cover up his miss deed, but a gain one wonders how many Namibians stole money and keep every penny to themselves? Yes I know Kandara also bought church bells. The other point is, the man crooked his way around Wall Street were one director is ( the badly paid in the world) making USD 1,4 Billions a year, what is the fuss about Kobi,s loot? Not as if they need it anyway. He is a kind of nice guy, may be he should stay, just maybe Tiara, don’t cut my head off ...lol, but those kids need to finish their school, it is a cruel world isn’t it? [Post edited by: Sacramento on 25/8/08 2:35 AM] [Post edited by: Sacramento on 25/8/08 2:37 AM] Re: Jacob ('Kobi') Alexander to go or to stay? Elaeti.nam Number Posts: 241 Last Post: 15.11.2008, 12:47 [ View User's Posts ] Monday, 25. August 2008 at 11:09 Who is Kobi Alexander? From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobi_Alexander Born May 4, 1952 (1952-05-04) (age 56) Kfar Saba, Israel Jacob "Kobi" Alexander is the founder and the former CEO of New York-based Comverse Technology. In 2006, he was charged with multiple counts of fraud and related offenses pertaining to irregularities in trading of Comverse stock; he subsequently fled to Namibia. Alexander founded Comverse Technology (NASDAQ: CMVT) in 1982 and built it up from a 3-person Israeli startup to employing over 5,000, becoming the leading provider of software and systems for telecommunication companies worldwide. Comverse’s success led to its inclusion in the NASDAQ 100 and S&P 500 indices. Early life Alexander (born May 4, 1952) into a middle class family in Kfar-Saba, Israel. His mother was a school teacher, and his father an officer in the signal corps of the Israeli Defense Forces, and later, the Managing Director of the Israeli National Oil Company. Following military service, Alexander enrolled in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, receiving a BA in Economics Magna Cum Laude in 1977. In 1978 he traveled to the United States earning an MBA at New York University. In his early years in New York, He met an electrical engineer and together with his brother in law, a professor of Computer Science at Columbia University, the three conceived voice mail technology and developed the idea of what was to become Comverse Technology. The founders understood already then that communications will be a big market, and pioneered the voice mail systems that today are used by telecoms worldwide to support telephony services for the masses. Career In 1981, fresh with his NYU MBA, Alexander returned to Israel to bootstrap Comverse.In 1986, after struggling for over 4 years with the company reaching the brink of bankruptcy, the two other founders left their operational roles, and subsequently left the company. Upon taking the helm, Alexander made three key strategic decisions: 1. Selling strictly to telecoms, who in turn represented hundreds of thousands of end user licenses for Comverse systems, and who enabled Comverse to piggyback on their growth. 2. Focusing on markets outside the U.S. where competition was weaker, enabling Comverse to establish leadership in certain regions early on. 3. Raising financing when market conditions were favorable. Within a short amount of time, Comverse was back on its feet. A major breakthrough came when Alexander convinced Swiss telecom giant Ascom to invest US$6 million in the company in the mid eighties, providing Comverse the capital it needed to realize its dream. In 1986, Alexander was able to take Comverse public on the NASDAQ. In 1997, Comverse bought its main competitor for US$700 million, at the time the largest acquisition to date for an Israeli based company. Comverse Technology, Inc., which owns 100% of Comverse, also owns majority equity in several other companies, including Verint and Ulticom. It has over US$1.5 billion in sales to over 450 telecoms in 120 countries supporting more than 450 million subscribers worldwide. As of March 2006, the company employed approximately 6000 people in over 50 countries, had a market capitalization of approximately US$6 billion, and over US$2.2 billion in cash. Awards & Accomplishments For his achievements over the last 25 years, Alexander received the global business community’s highest awards and accolades. He came 12th in Chief Executive Magazine’s: “Market Value Added Ranking” of the CEOs of the 1000 largest US corporations, ranking those that “created the most wealth for shareholders”. The successes of Kobi and Comverse were recognized by the world’s leading publications including Barron’s, Bloomberg, Business Week, Financial World, Forbes, Fortune, International Business, and Wall Street Journal. Kobi was awarded “Entrepreneur of the Year” by both Ernst & Young and Deloitte & Touche. The Wall Street Transcript, naming Kobi Alexander as the Gold Award Winner in the Computer Telephony industry said: “… an exceptional management team have yielded consistently outstanding revenues, earnings, and shareholder value. Alexander has set some very high standards for this company and this industry.” In addition to Comverse Technology, Alexander spun off and took public several other companies including Ulticom (NASDAQ: ULCM) and Verint Systems (NASDAQ: VRNT). Companies under his leadership were listed in Barron’s 500, Business Week: “Hot Growth Companies”, “Business Week 50”, Business Week: “The Information Technology 100”, Financial World: “America’s Best 100 Growth Companies”, Fortune: “100 Fastest Growing Companies”'[1], International Business: “100 Fastest-Growing International Companies”, Wall Street Journal: “10-Year Best Performers”, and Wall Street Journal “Honor Roll”, among others. In 2006, Comverse was named one of Institutional Investor: America's Most Shareholder-Friendly Companies". "As CEO of Comverse, Alexander was sought out by the likes of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who slipped away from official meetings in 2000 and steered his motorcade through a pot-holed section of Tel Aviv to meet with him."[1] He served as the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") of CTI from 1987 to May 1, 2006, when he resigned during an investigation being conducted by a Special Committee of CTI's Board of Directors into the timing of CTI's stock option grants. He was Chairman of several CTI subsidiaries, including Verint and Ulticom. Criminal charges On July 31, 2006, Alexander, who holds Israeli citizenship, was charged by United States Department of Justice authorities with multiple charges of conspiracy to commit various types of fraud (including securities fraud, wire fraud and mail fraud), as well as with related offences, all relating to the timing of Comverse's stock option grants. After Alexander left the United States on June 21 2006 on a pre-planned annual vacation in Israel[2], his lawyers arranged with American authorities that he would return to face indictment on July 30, 2006; however, he instead traveled to Germany. On July 31st he was added to the FBI's Most Wanted List[3]. On August 9, 2006 the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil injunctive action in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York against Alexander[4], along with alleged co-conspirators William F. Sorin, Comverse’s former Senior General Counsel, and David Kreinberg, Comverse’s former Chief Financial Officer. The complaint makes nine claims of violation of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act, including fraud (First and Second Claims), and falsification of books, records or accounts (Fourth Claim).[5] Through this action, the Commission is seeking permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil damages, and a prohibition against any of the defendants becoming officers of a securities-issuing entity under SEC jurisdiction.[6] Alexander transferred over 40 million dollars from his personal U.S. bank account to his personal bank account in Israel. He was arrested by Interpol in Windhoek, Namibia on September 27, 2006. He was released on bail on October 3, 2006.[7][8][9][10]. According to a Reuters report of April 23, 2007, the Namibian government described Alexander as “very passionate" about the country and its people; Alexander has promised to boost academic interest in science and technology in Namibia by establishing an annual scholarship for primary and secondary level students.[2] He has also begun to introduce advanced technology to the country with his development of a low budget solar powered housing project for 100 low-income Namibian families.[3] Despite fighting extradition to the United States, Alexander announced on January 28, 2008 that he has filed suit against Comverse. Alexander claims the firm owes him $72 million in severance, unexercised stock options, and bonus pay. .[11] According to a June 26th 2008 report published by Agence France Presse a hearing preliminary to an extradition review by the courts has been scheduled for September 17, 2008.[4] On July 3rd 2008 a Namibian court split decisions for and against Alexander granting his request to remove the judge currently assigned to preside at his extradition hearing while declining to assign a magistrate of his choosing. Additionally, the Namibian High Court did not, at Alexander’s attorneys’ request, rule unconstitutional the Extradition Act which would allow Alexander to be imprisoned at some point during the upcoming extradition hearing.[5] The final outcome of the extradition proceedings can be several years away pending the appeals process[6]. Despite impending extradition proceedings, Alexander has invested heavily within the country. [12] Re: Jacob ('Kobi') Alexander to go or to stay? Sacramento Number Posts: 287 Last Post: 21.11.2008, 09:57 [ View User's Posts ] Tuesday, 02. September 2008 at 03:56 That was a mouth full, but thanks for the details, surely this guy is a genius, may be we can tap in from his expertise to our advantage. Re: Jacob ('Kobi') Alexander to go or to stay? Legal Trophy Number Posts: 49 Last Post: 30.10.2008, 08:12 [ View User's Posts ] Tuesday, 02. September 2008 at 15:05 its quite interesting....my position remains in line with article 12(1) (d) of the Namibian constitution " a person is presumed innocent till proven guilty". besides, Kobi had done no harm to the Namibian people despite being extradited. but why should America demand him back? does America believes in Justice? The Guantanamo Bay shall be the reference..... Re: Jacob ('Kobi') Alexander to go or to stay? Tokyo Number Posts: 89 Last Post: 12.10.2008, 01:30 [ View User's Posts ] Saturday, 11. October 2008 at 22:29 The thug should go back to America to face criminal charges. 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