Fresh arrests loom in Malawi cashgate: Mphwiyo case has taken on board many accused - ACB
September 5, 2016 ; Green Muheya - Nyasa Times
Deputy Director of Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) Reyneck Matemba, who is also the prosecutor of Cashgate cases, disclosed that a new wave of arrests is looming.
He said ACB will make two fresh arrests of individuals connected to Cashgate and that the bureau will also nab civil servants. Matemba said Cashgate suspects implicated some civil servants who have been investigated and will be arrested.
He said it was "by design” by ACB to handle cases in relation to civil servants at the end of the cashgate trials. "We wanted to deal with contractors first,” said Matemba. "There will be a number of public servants that will have to come in that are not yet arrested,” he added.
Matemba said the case involving former Ministry of Finance budget director Paul Mphwiyo "involves a number of cases that were investigated separately.”
Mphwiyo's case involves K2.4 billion (about $3.6million) theft and money laundering charges Matemba said Mphwiyo is facing charges alongside 18 others, including civil servants such as former Accountant General David Kandoje, Auzius Kazombo Mwale, Clemence Mmadzi and Roosevelt Ndovi. There are also contractors among the accused persons.
Others are George Banda, Michael Mphatso, Samuel Mzanda and Maxwell Namata who are facing charges of fraud, negligence by public office, money laundering, theft by public servant, theft by servant and conspiracy to defraud government amounting to K2 446 817 450.49. "The case has taken in board many accused persons,” said Matemba, adding "with that case, we will be able to deal with a number if cases.”
Forensic auditors from British audit firm, RMS (formerly Baker Tilly), established that under the administration of Joyce Banda, about K24 billion was looted at Capital Hill between April and September 2013 through inflated invoices and payments for goods and services not provided to government. In 2015, a financial analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) also established that about K234 billion in public funds could not be reconciliated between 2009 and December 2014 owing to abuse of the central payment system, Integrated Financial Management Information System .
Western donor nations and agencies, which provide 40% of Malawi's budget, froze vital aid in reaction to the scandal. - See more at: http://www.nyasatimes.com/fresh-arrests-loom-malawi-cashgate-mphwiyo-case-taken-board-many-accused-acb/#sthash.k4cpfZJR.dpuf