Money laundering is the activity of transferring illegal and black money into several channels with the big of turning it into white or legal money. In this manner, lawmakers or tax investigators are generally unable to detect the actual source of the money, which is illegal. A similar event has devastated the economy and social life of Zambian citizens. As per the news shared by Financial Intelligence Centre, mass money laundering scheme worth more than USD 1.5 million dollars have been detected. As per the FIC sources, this money is just tip of the iceberg and the actual amount of money involved in these schemes might be much more.
Two of the names which topped the list of money launderers included that of Sakwiba Sikota and Masozi M. Banda. Banda is a lawyer working with the law firm Avic International. He is accused of laundering money worth more than a million dollars. On the other hand, Sakwiba Sikota is the owner of Central Chambers, a law firm and the long-term legal associated for the Ventriglias. The Ventriglias are known for their unethical practices, one of the most common being the illegal takeover of the Zambezi Portland Cement from Dr. Rajan Mahtani, its real owner. Dr. Mahtani has been fighting a legal war for the takeover of the factory and as per the latest announcements, the court is about to announce the judgment soon, and in favor of its real owner; Dr. Mahtani.
From these events, it is clear that the lawyers and others accused of money laundering are no saint, and have already involved in some form of unethical activities. Therefore, it is high time for the government as well as the lawmakers of Zambia to start taking stringent actions against these culprits.