The recent news regarding money laundering bust in Zambia certainly uprooted the country’s law and order system. An intelligence agency from Zambia named FIC (Financial Intelligence Centre) recently unearthed mass money laundering scheme involving prominent legal counselors as well as political figures. ZIC was able to draw them out by preparing a list of names and sharing it with the public. The list is hugely unsettling as it comprises of the names of various law firms, government workers, high-end officials, top legal counselors and ministers who have served in the Zambian government. It is also suspected that most of these people are laundering money for notorious Dictator of Zambia, Edgar Lungu.
Among these names, the top of the list was M Banda, a prominent lawyer working for Avik International, a law firm. The number of cash transactions suspected from his bank account was expected in millions. However, Banda has denied any allegations by stating that the amount in his bank account is for government-based contracts such as construction f road. At the same time, FIC has found no such evidence of same and as such the investigation will continue further. Many other law firms owned by previous lawyers and judges and even some ex-ministers have been under the scanner of laundering money for dictators and getting a huge profit out of these. Among these, the name of Sakwiba Sikota also appears. He is the owner of Central Chambers, a law firm and the legal counselor for the Ventriglias who are notorious for their own set of illegal and unlawful activities. This link gives a clear picture of the state of affairs these lawyers are engaged in.
The FIC says that the amount involved in this scheme is almost 1 billion USD. As such, it is imperative for the government and the lawmakers to start taking strict actions against those confirmed of this crime and establish strict monitoring systems for those currently under suspicion.