The Fishrot scandal, in which a number of prominent personalities are implicated, has continued to make headlines since it was exposed in 2019.

Those accused in the matter are said to have misappropriated close to half a billion dollars.

The men implicated are two former Cabinet ministers, a former board chairperson, and directors.

All of the suspects are accused of running schemes to get control of government fishing quotas, such as those held by the state fishing company, Fishcor, worth millions of dollars.

Now they stand accused of enriching themselves through corruption, fraud, and money laundering, among other charges.

They are accused of exploiting Namibia's fishing resources, with dire consequences that saw thousands in the fishing industry lose their jobs.

Before the Al Jazeera documentary "The Anatomy of a Bribe," released in November of 2019, local media reported on possible large-scale fraudulent and corrupt activities at FishCor, which included companies owned by some of those who now stand accused.

In this 2018 article published in a local daily, the then Justice Minister Sackey Shanghala and former Fisheries Minister Bernard Esau were summoned to State House to explain allegations of corruption.

In 2015, Investec's then-Namibia Managing Director James Hatuikulipi threatened to sue the same paper for reporting that he was related to Fisheries Minister Esau and that his appointment as Chairman of the National Fishing Corporation of Namibia was against the Act under which the company was formed.

The allegations were labeled "perceptions" and "jealousy" by some of those implicated, who lived a life of luxury.

Al Jazeera picked up on "The Fishrot Files," disclosed by whistleblower and Icelandic national Johannes Stefansson on WikiLeaks.

The files detail how the Icelandic fishing company Samherji allegedly paid millions of dollars, through tax havens such as Cyprus, to bribe high-level officials in Namibia in exchange for fishing rights.

The global news agency then produced an explosive documentary, naming it The Anatomy of a Bribe, and released it in November 2019, a week before the country's national elections.

The Anti-Corruption Commission released a statement confirming the ongoing investigations against certain individuals on allegations of corruption.

And shortly after the release of the documentary, several arrests were made, and one by one, the once prominent men were jailed.

They all denied any wrongdoing.

Since their arrest, the men dubbed "Sharks" have been in and out of courtrooms; they yearn for liberty, but so far, they have not convinced presiding magistrates and judges and are denied bail.

Another accused in the matter, Ricardo Gustavo, was briefly granted bail of $800,000, but his freedom was short-lived after a full bench of Supreme Court judges ruled that High Court Judge Herman Oosthuizen ruled incorrectly when he granted Gustavo bail.

The Fishrot trial is scheduled to start in October this year, though it is expected to be a lengthy one.