As per the breaking news by FIC (Financial Intelligence Centre) list of lawyers from Zambia have been released who are suspected of involving in money laundering activities. This list also contains the name of Sakwiba Sikota, who is the attorney for the Ventriglias.
This is one of the most surprising yet devastating revelations by the intelligence branch in this year. The list contains a huge number of people and many are big and noted lawyers in Zambia. This revelation clearly indicates the large scale corruption and crime that is going on in the Zambian nation and the inability of the government to curb them. This list is topped by OMM Banda, Avic International’s lawyer and it is suspected that he is actually laundering money for Edgar Lungu, the dictator of Zambia. While Banda has defended himself by saying that the money is for government contracts, the probe is going on to penetrate further into these activities.
At the same time, various Law firms have been caught into the illicit money laundering act. Among those having a huge amount of suspicious funds is Central Chambers, owned by Sakwiba Sikota. While the list is astonishing for corporate and the general public, expecting Sikota’s name in it is not so unforeseen, due to his tie-ups with the Italian family who are themselves notorious for their illegal and unlawful activities.
While the intelligence department is trying to uncover more in this illicit money laundering scheme, difficulties are arising due to the nature of the transactions done, which are majorly in cash. Companies and individuals were found to withdraw cash in huge amounts and the cash deposits did not add up eventually. Also, the illegal money is used for trading commodities such as maize, fertilizers etc, so that when the proceeds come back to the banks and then to their accounts, they are normal. As per the main investigator of this scheme, the amount of illegal money laundered is just shy of billion dollars.
While the FIC will keep sharing further details as and when their investigation continues, it is also time for the Zambian government to start taking strict actions on those found guilty of the crime.