ACB resumes K400m Cashgate probe
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has resumed investigations into the scam at Malawi Police Service (MPS) and Accountant General’s Department where about K400 million was allegedly stolen, leading to the arrest of 29 people, including senior police officers.
The scam shocked the public as Fiscal Police discovered that an accounts assistant had unexplained millions of kwacha in his bank account.
This could have been the genesis of what has come to be termed Cashgate, but the cases have stalled over the past three years.
The arrested police officers included the then deputy commissioner of Police Elijah Kachikuwo, Garnet Wilson Chandema and Barnet Mwasinga who were accounts staff at National Police Headquarters in Lilongwe.
Accountant General officials such as Alice Namata and Maxwell Namata were also arrested in 2011, but there has been little progress on the cases.
An update dated November 27 2014 on the government action plan to address weaknesses in the public financial management systems presented to Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament last week indicates that auditing on the case has been completed and the Auditor General has handed over seven case files to ACB for more investigations.
ACB spokesperson Egrita Ndala confirmed that the 29 suspects were on bail.
She said: “The Bureau has 29 suspects on bail in relation to the K400 million Malawi Police and Accountant General case. The cases are in court.”
Some of the suspects, including Kachikuwo who was transferred to Mangochi as officer-in-charge, have returned to work.
