Recently, the Zambian government and its people were shocked with the recent bust made by Financial Intelligence Centre. It was the mass money laundering scheme and involvement of more than USD 1.5 million worth of money. The FIC also released a list of names of top lawyers and legal counselors who were named in the list of money launderers.
According to the reports by the FIC, various observations were made after which the investigation was made further. One of the earliest indications of illegal activities was cash deposits to the bank accounts of noted lawyers and legal counselors. The source of these cash transactions was not found by the agency and it was also observed that many of the transactions were made from foreign accounts such as those from Dubai and China. These are some of the places known as safe havens for money laundering and other illegal acts. Further investigation revealed that majority of these accounts was highly active during special illegal occasions, such as the hearing of Rupiah Bandah for his involvement in the Nigerian Oil Dealings, illegal elections, and the Presidential Petition. To sum it up, it can be easily seen here that majority of those transactions were done during these events making the connections more transparent.
Two of the names which stood out included Masozi M Banda and Sakwiba Sikota. Masozi Banda is a lawyer working for Avic International. He is accused of laundering money worth more than USD 1 million. Sakwiba Sikota is another lawyer accused of laundering millions of money. He is also infamous for his association with the Ventriglias, the Italian family in Zambia. The Ventriglias and Sakwiba Sikota have involved in numerous unethical practices, such as the illegal takeover of the Portland Cement Zambia from its real owner, Dr. Rajan Mahtani.
The reports and the evidence from FIC are strong enough to establish these lawyers and legal counselors as the culprits and for the government to take actions against them.