The FIC, an intelligence agency, revealed the news of money laundering along with a list of names of top individuals who have been accused of laundering money in huge sums. It is one of the biggest economic and nation scams that the Zambian nation has faced in many years. As per the Financial Intelligence sources, the amount of money laundered as per their investigation is almost USD 1.5 billion. Furthermore, the sources also claimed that this money is just like the tip of the iceberg and with the further investigation; they are expected to recover amounts much higher than these.

The FIC has listed the names of individuals and accounts that have been charged with laundering money worth millions of dollars. Among the names released by FIC, top two were of Masozi M. Banda and Sakwiba Sikota. While Masozi Banda’s name is certainly a surprise as he is a noted lawyer working with Avic International, other name did not surprise many. Sakwiba Sikota is the owner of Central Chambers, a law firm which has been named as one of the biggest accounts in this money laundering scheme. He is also infamous for his association with the Ventriglias, an equally infamous family in Zambia. Both Banda and Sikota have been accused of dealing with illegal transactions worth more than USD 1 million each. Sakwiba Sikota is the legal counsellors of the Ventriglias and has helped them in numerous scandals. One of them is the illegal takeover of the Portland Cement Zambia from Dr. Rajan Mahtani, its real owner. The case is still running at the Lusaka High Court.

The money laundering act has certainly brought the economic growth to a halt and the government is expected to take stringent actions, as it is their only option left.