Contractor found guilty in K338m Cashgate case

The High Court in Lilongwe has described contractor Godfrey Dzanjalimodzi as a willing participant in a Cashgate transaction amounting to K338 million in which his company was used to siphon money from the government.

The court yesterday found Dzanjalimodzi guilty of theft and laundering K338 million between April and September 2013 when he personally deposited five cheques into an account belonging to WG Construction then electronically transferred the money into his personal account.

During court proceedings of the case, the State proved that Dzanjalimodzi was the only one who had the password to the electronic banking facility of the company’s account and did not entertain questions from fellow directors when they queried the unusual movements in the account.

Justice Ivy Kamanga also quashed Dzanjalimodzi’s argument that his friend Andrew Chilembwe just used his company’s account to register with the Accountant General for payment for construction works he did for Ministry of Tourism, describing him as an educated man who should not have been so easily duped.

“The accused is a scholar, educated and studied in the United Kingdom where he obtained a degree in surveying. He was conversant with the laws and procedures governing the construction system. Surely, he appears to be more than an ordinary Malawian who couldn’t have foolishly trusted Chilembwe based on past relationship and trust,” Kamanga said.

She added: “Going by his conduct with fellow directors, he was a willing participant in defrauding government. I am satisfied that WG Construction account was used to steal government money as appearing in the charge sheet and I find the accused guilty as charged.”

On the charge of money laundering, Kamanga said the act of banking the cheques in the company’s dormant bank account then transferring them into his personal account was an act of money laundering. n