10 more cashgate files submitted
The Auditor General on Friday handed over 10 more case files to prosecuting authorities to facilitate investigations and prosecution of cases of theft of K6.1 billion from government coffers, but Malawians should not expect fresh arrests, according to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
In the past month, civil society organisations (CSOs) and opposition politicians have been demanding to know names and companies involved in the theft of public resources at Capital Hill widely known as Cashgate.
However, government, through the National Audit Office (NAO), has refused to disclose the details for fear of jeopardising ongoing investigations and court cases.
NAO corporate communications officer Thomas Chafunya confirmed that the Auditor General handed over the case files on Friday to ACB, bringing the total number to 20.
The Auditor General handed over five files on February 28 and another set of five on March 28 this year.
ACB deputy director general Reyneck Matemba confirmed in an interview yesterday that Auditor General Stephenson Kamphasa handed over the files in the presence of representatives from the Malawi Police Service (MPS) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
But Matemba said the files in their custody so far related to matters which the ACB and other prosecuting authorities were already handling and many of whom were in court.
He said: “In relation to the companies mentioned in the case files, the matters are already in court. But the files are adding value and giving us leads to conduct further investigations.”
The report, which angered many Malawians, highlighted three aspects of suspected theft: ‘Cashgate’ transactions where K6.1 billion was stolen, payment suspected to have been made without supporting documents amounting to K3.9 billion and suspected inflated procurement prices totalling to K3.6 billion.
However, there have not been fresh arrests and prosecution of people suspected to have taken part in the theft apart from cases which are currently in court.
In the meantime, Baker Tilly, the British forensic auditors who carried out the audit covering April to September 2013, are expected to return this month to complete outstanding work in its Fraud and Mismanagement of Malawi Government Finances report.
There has only been one successful prosecution linked to ‘Cashgate’ involving a motor vehicle which was discovered to have been stolen and was used to store large amounts of unexplained cash at the house of 27-year-old businessperson Victor Sithole in Lilongwe.
