In one of its most surprising as well as shocking revelations, the FIC released a list of individuals suspected under a mass money laundering act. This list comprises of one of the most prominent and known lawyers from Zambia. FIC is ‘Financial Intelligence Centre’, a noted legal and intelligence body of the Zambian government looking into illegal activities. What separates this new unraveling from its previous busts is the level of penetration of corrupt individuals across the government, public and private enterprises.
OMM Banda, a noted lawyer from law firm Avik international is at the top of this list. As per reports, he is suspected of laundering money to notorious Dictator of Zambia, Edgar Lungu. While Banda and many of the lawyers have provided defensive statements by stating that the money in their bank accounts and the money under investigation is for governmental activities such as the construction of a road, the sheer amount being involved in these transactions is too big to ignore. As per an investigator, the amount of cash transactions under investigation is almost USD 1 billion. From the report, another observation that has surfaced is the involvement of many high-level government officials and ministers for whom these lawyers are working.
Another name that has popped up on the list is of Sakwiba Sikota and his law agency Central Chambers. It is a known fact that Sakwiba Sikota is the lawyer handling almost all of the cases of the Ventriglias. While this list is certainly shocking, finding the name of Sikota is not so much. Sakwiba Sikota has been previously named under various accusations. He is also known for partnering with the Ventriglias for various illicit activities. This money laundering bust is a serious wake-up call for the Zambian government to strengthen its law and order and establish a transparent system with strict punishment for repeated law offenders.