The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has given United Kingdom-based businessperson Zuneth Sattar access to his bank accounts frozen in connections with investigations of some procurement deals his firms had with government ministries, departments and agencies.
Responding to The Nation questionnaire, ACB spokesperson Egrita Ndala said the accounts have been unfrozen because investigations revealed that they were not used for payments from the Malawi Government.
Reads the response: “The bureau had unfrozen bank accounts which the investigation had established that they were not receiving payments from the Malawi Government.
“It was established that the accounts where the Malawi Government cheques were paid were based outside Malawi. It has also been established that those accounts were frozen there.”
A restriction order expires after three months of its issuance, according to Section 23 of the Corrupt Practices Act. The bureau, however, is at liberty to extend it through an application made through a magistrate court.
The ACB froze Sattar’s bank accounts in Malawi about three years ago pending investigations into allegations that Sattar bribed several public and private officials to gain favour from public contracts.
Last year in September, it emerged that the bureau had not renewed the restriction notice for over a month which allowed Sattar to access his bank accounts.
In an interview at the time, Ndala said: “The bureau has always intended to renew the restriction notice on the bank accounts under investigations upon its expiry in August.
“However, it was giving room to an out of court discussion it engaged with counsel for defendants on some proposed withdrawals from the accounts in question, which his clients intended to make to fulfil some statutory obligations.”
Sattar has been at the centre of a joint probe between ACB and the National Crimes Agency in the UK where he was arrested in September 2021 and granted bail later.
The investigations are linked to multi-billion kwacha food and arms supply deals which his companies struck with State agencies, notably the Malawi Defence Force and the Malawi Police Service
The probe led to arrests of top government officials, including Vice-President Saulos Chilima, former minister of Lands Kezzie Msukwa and former Inspector General of Police George Kainja.
Chilima’s charges were dropped early this year on grounds of national security. Since then, there has not been much happening on the many cases related to Sattar.
Meanwhile, below is an update on the status of some Sattar-related cases:
· State v Kezzie Msukwa & Ashok Nair
The two appealed against a High Court ruling to the Supreme Court. A date is yet to be set by the Supreme Court of Appeal.
w State v George Kainja
This was supposed to go to court in the month of October but one of the defence lawyers had sought an adjournment due to other commitments.
w State v Mwabi Kalua
This was supposed to go to court this week but one of the defence lawyers has sought an adjournment due to other commitments
w State v Suzi Banda
The court is yet to give a date of hearing. The case delayed because the accused made an application that the bureau should not prosecute him. The bureau objected to the application and the court dismissed the application.
wThe State v Macfarlene Jere
The State made a decision not to prosecute him as he was turned into a State witness
wState v Reyneck Matemba
Waiting for date on ruling of case or no case to answer.
