The FIC recently revealed shocking news of money laundering and involvement of top lawyers, legal counsellors, government officials as well as some of the ministers of the Zambian government in this money laundering list. This is one of the biggest money laundering busts by the FIC, considering the amount of money as well as the number of individuals involved in this bust.
John Kasanga is the present acting Director of the FIC, and shared some interesting news along with the scheme. More than USD 1 billion worth of money is found to have been illegally and suspiciously deposition across numerous company accounts. Majority of these accounts are owned and maintained by law firms as well as several political personalities. More than USD 72 million worth of money has been deposited across numerous personal accounts of top lawyers, legal counsellors as well as government contractors within a short span of time.
Some of the top names in the list comprised of Masozi M. Banda and Sakwiba Sikota. Masozi M. Banda is the lawyer working for Avic International and is accused of handling illegal money worth more than USD 1 million. When he was confronted, he simply defended himself by saying that the money in his account is for construction purposes and belongs to Edgar Lungu, the Zambian president who has established a dictatorship in Zambia. Another name in the list was of Sakibwa Sikota, the legal counsellor for the Ventriglias and the owner of Central Chambers. He is also accused of laundering millions of money. He is also infamous for aiding the Ventriglias in various illegal acts, such as the illegal takeover of the Portland Cement Zambia from Dr. Rajan Mahtani.
Now that the money laundering bust is public, the government should immediately take actions and ensure that such acts are minimized in future. If not, the Zambian economy will never recover from this shock.