The fraud is alleged to involve present and former managers as well as other firms.

The directors on Friday indefinitely suspended James Camm, Telecom's General Manager for Consumer Services, but did not disclose in a note to staff why he was put on forced leave.

Telecom Chairman Titus Haimbili, who is reportedly the only person able to comment on the matter, was not available.

Camm yesterday declined to comment in detail about his suspension, except to say that he was just told that undisclosed "allegations" had been made against him.

Asked about allegations of fraud, Camm said:"I don't know what you are talking about.

It's news to me."

People in Telecom say the case is so huge that Cabinet has apparently become involved and Government may institute a probe of its own to get to the bottom of what is being described as an "intricate net" of people alleged to have defrauded Telecom through tenders.

Insiders said the cases being investigated took place over several years during the reign of former Managing Director Theo Mberirua.

"It is big, it's not a small thing," said a top manager close to the case.

According to other reports, the net involves some people at NamPost, Telecom's sister company, and that ingenious ways were used to siphon off millions of dollars.

These included contracts for the supply of goods such as cables, while others dealt with vending machines for the sale of telephone cards.

People close to the investigation said some of the cases allegedly linked to Camm stem from a case against a former manager, Ivan Ganes, who fled Namibia in 2001 after he was charged with defrauding Telecom of N$1,1 million in connection with scrap metal dealings.

After he skipped bail and escaped to South Africa, Telecom disclosed that Ganes owed the company more than N$4 million, which he gained through bribes, secret profits or secret commissions that he diverted from the parastatal between 1995 and 2001.

Some of the information suggested that "there was a formula for splitting" Ganes's suspected ill-gotten wealth among a wide range of people.

Namibian courts sought to extradite Ganes, who forfeited the N$100 000 bail he had posted, but it is not clear what has happened to attempts to make him stand trial in Namibia.

Other reports said Telecom has tried to recoup money from his estate.

He is still reported to be in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Camm, a rugby personality who has been involved in clashes with lawyer Dirk Conradie over the administration of the game, yesterday dismissed suggestions that he withdrew from the race to become president of the Namibia Rugby Union because of the trouble at Telecom.

Camm said he withdrew two weeks ago and merely wanted to stop the infighting in rugby.

"That's not because of anything else, I have done what I needed to do - draw up the business plan, as well as sponsorship deals for rugby," he said.