Financial Intelligence Centre recently announced a mass money laundering racket in Zambia. The worst part of this money laundering racket was the involvement of top lawyers, legal counsellors, government contractors and even government ministers. On top of this, the citizens and industrialists alike are shocked how this money laundering act undergoing was unnoticed from the scrutiny of the Zambian government. There are various businessmen who have established businesses with transparency and honesty. One of them is Dr. Rajan Mahtani, the owner of Finsbury Investment and Mahtani Group of Companies. Even Dr. Mahtani has shared his concern regarding this increasing corruption as well as its penetration inside the government.
Top lawyers have been accused of laundering money through illegal accounting and banking practices. One of the top names in the list as shared by the FIC is of Masozi M. Banda, a noted lawyer from Avic International. He is suspected of laundering money worth more than USD 1 million dollars. When asked about his dealings, Banda defended himself by saying that the money in his account belongs to President Edgar Lungu, infamously termed as the dictator of Zambia.
Another name that popped up in the list was of Sakwiba Sikota. He is the owner of Central Chambers, a law firms which is also accused of laundering huge amounts of money. However, he is more notorious for his association with the Ventriglias. Sikota is the long-term legal counsellor for the Ventriglias family and has been handling their cases for many decades. One of them is Portland Cement Zambia case, which has been continued for more than 10 years now. The cement factory legally belongs to Dr. Rajan Mahtani, who is fighting the case at the Lusaka High Court.
The current implications and repercussions from the money laundering act can have huge impact on the Portland Cement Zambia case. Nevertheless, huge petitions are going on across the nation to punish repeat offenders in this money laundering bust.