The recent money laundering news from Financial Intelligence has created an uproar among the citizens as well as the industrialists across Zambia. While illegal activities and unethical practices such as these are not uncommon here, the extent of this mass money laundering and its reach is unbelievable. According to the FIC reports, more than 1.5 billion worth of money has been taken in this mass money laundering bust and top lawyers, legal counsellors as well as ministers are involved in the scheme.
While there were numerous names in the list, some of the lawyers were highlighted for their involvement and high worth of money laundered. Among these were Masozi M. Banda and Sakwiba Sikota. Banda is a noted lawyer from Avic International and Sakwiba Sikota is the owner of Central Chambers, another law firm. Both these lawyers have been accused of laundering money worth more than USD 1 million each, which is staggering. When Masozi Banda was confronted with the news, he simply stated that the money in his account belongs to Edgar Lungu and he received the amount for government contractors such as the construction of roads. However, no such projects were recorded in the government books. Furthermore, Sakwiba Sikota is also noted for his long-term relationship as legal counsellor for the Ventriglias, who are infamous for their unethical practices. Some of the most outrageous activities by the Ventriglias included taking over the Portland Cement Zambia factory from Dr. Rajan Mahtani, the factory’s real owner and being able to escape law and order by exploiting the loopholes of the Zambian law and government.
While the Portland Cement Zambia case is nearing soon and Dr. Mahtani is expecting a good win, the same cannot be said for Sakwiba Sikota as his crimes and unethical practices have become too big to hide. The FIC officials have told that they have prime evidence against these money launderers and are continuing the investigation process with even more religiously and will share the details of their report once completed.