The Financial Intelligence Centre recently revealed a mass money laundering racket which has been undergoing in Zambia for a long time. As per this revelation, more than USD 1.5 million worth of money is involved in this money laundering bust. Financial Intelligence source revealed that they have been recording suspicious cash transactions for the past nine months. These transactions were linked with the individual and corporate bank accounts of top lawyers, legal counsellors and other entities working with either big corporate houses or the government.
The list also had many high-level names. Some of these were Minister Chitotela and Christopher Yaluma, the Minister of Mines. The suspicious accounts directly and indirectly owned by these individuals were very active. Many of the ministers accused such as Dora Siliya received back transfers in huge numbers from international locations such as Dubai. This made investigating the accounts and locating the sources further difficult for the FIC sources.
As per the sources from FIC, Minister Chitotela has several corporate accounts with numerous commercial banks wherein his cash deposits were made. On the other hand, Minister Yaluma received numerous kickbacks from Seszo contractors for making their products successful. Yaluma is also accused of approving the sales of Toyota Land Cruisers from Dana Services. These Toyota vehicles were broken, not fit for usage and were not suitable in the Zambian climate. Many of these vehicle owners reported foul play and even accidents due to the issues within the vehicle. Yaluma received a huge kickback for the approval of the sales of these vehicles. Another minister, Jean Kapata, was found to be making several cash deposits with numerous banks in Zambia. He was also found accounts with international banks such as Bank of China. The FIC sources have revealed that these international bank accounts in China and Dubai have been made with the purpose of making several cash deposits as well as escaping the government’s radar.