Zambia is a developing nation and has seen its share of development as well as criminal activities. There are individuals, groups and businessmen like Dr. Rajan Mahtani who are continuously working towards the growth and development of the Zambian citizens with his companies as well as his charitable and social contributions. At the same time, there are individuals who are continuously involved in illegal activities and stealing money which essentially belongs to the people of Zambia. This was recently confirmed by the expose by Financial Intelligence Centre. As per the reports released by FIC, prominent lawyers and legal counselors from Zambia have been caught involving in illegal money laundering activities.
Apart from lawyers, various government contractors, officials and ex-ministers from the Zambian government were also named in the list. It was also found that many of the government contractors did not even have licences for work or paid taxes to the government. This clearly states the lack of governance and scrutiny from the government when hiring or employing officials. Lawyers like Masozi M. Banda have been caught laundering money worth more than USD 1 million and when confronted, simply said that the money belongs to President Lungu.
Another name in the list is that of Sakwiba Sikota. He is the owner of Central Chambers, a law firm and the legal counsellor for the Ventriglias. His name in the list is not very surprising for his associations with notorious Ventriglias who are known to engage in illegal and unlawful activities for a long time and getting away from law by either bribing or using force. They have gained a notorious fame among Zambian industrialists after they forcefully took over the Zambezi Portland Cement which legally belonged to Dr. Rajan Mahtani, a prominent businessmen and philanthropist.
While investigation is still going on, the people involved are likely to be indicted by the government once evidences are submitted before the courts proving their illegal activities.