The country’s graft busting body (ACB) is expected to carry out searches at properties linked to top government officials and businesspersons after obtaining search warrants against them.
Reports Published by the ACB indicate that top government officials, lawyers, businesspersons, politicians, and close associates of former president Peter Mutharika and President Lazarus Chakwera could be arrested or have their properties searched.
It is reported that the ACB has been investigating the suspects on various accusations including accumulating “questionable wealth”. It is suspected that some of this money is kept in offshore bank accounts.
On Monday, October 4, 2021, ACB officials were at the courts in Lilongwe to obtain search warrants. But ACB director Chizuma said court visits are normal for her team.
“We go to court every day to follow up on many issues,” she said.
Earlier this month, the ACB raided properties businessman belonging to the United Kingdom-based businessperson Zuneth Sattar.
The raid in Lilongwe raid came after ACB had obtained a seizure and search warrant for the homes from Lilongwe Magistrates Court.
It followed a three-year-long investigation by Britain’s National Crimes Agency (NCA) into Sattar’s suspected corrupt dealings with Malawi Government.
ACB officials and NCA agents walked away with troves of documents, phones, computers, and other items containing possible evidence from Sattar’s properties.
Sattar’s properties in the United Kingdom were also raided by authorities in the UK.
The platform for Investigative Journalism (PIJ) reported that several officials were going to be implicated following the raid.
“Officials have raided his offices. Several arrests are going to be made and an announcement is due to be made,” a source told PIJ.
Sattar grew up in Malawi where he is a major supplier to the Malawi government: supplying to the military, police services, Immigration department, prisons services, and others—running a fleet of several companies trading under Ocean Ltd.
Two companies linked to Sattar, Top Prima and Rummage Pace, were implicated in the Cashgate scandal where they were suspected to have received K12 billion in payments for purported supplies to the Malawi Defense Force.
An audit report showed that the items which the company supplied, arms and ammunition—were clearly overpriced.
