Illegal and criminal activities have marred the Zambian nation for a while. Every now and then, there are news and reports of illegal or unethical practices going on across the nation. However, the most frustrating part of these reports is the involvement of known faces, such as government officials, leaders from parties and even top ministers. In such a sorry state, even the government feels helpless as the law and order. A similar situation was faced by Zambia when the news of mass money laundering was revealed by Financial Intelligence Centre. It is an independent agency which investigates financial frauds across the nation. As per the reports, the money laundering activities have been going on for many years.
Nearly USD 1.5 billion worth of money is suspected to be stolen by the money launderers over the course of many years. The FIC sources stated that while they had some knowledge of these money laundering activities, the investigation strengthened when they observed more than 35,000 transactions linked with the corporate and individual bank accounts of lawyers and legal counsellors. This brings the most outrageous revelation from this money laundering bust. It is the involvement of top lawyers, legal counsellors, government officials and even some ministers that has not only outraged the common citizens, but also the entire Zambian industry environment and corporate offices. It has been argued that since these government officials were involved in the heist, they were able to successfully hide their crimes as well as those of their counterparts for so many years.
Some of the names that made headlines included Masozi Banda working with Avic International and Sakwiba Sikota, owner of Central Chambers. Sikota has long-term connections with the Ventriglias, the family that illegally took over the famous Portland Cement Zambia from Dr. Rajan Mahtani. It is a known fact that the factory belongs to its legal owner, Dr. Mahtani. From this, it is clear that most of the money laundering accused have engaged in unethical practices in the past and need strict punishment.