AG set to recover money lost at Salima Sugar
Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda says Salima Sugar Company will continue to operate despite a forensic audit report revealing that private Investors in the company defrauded the government.
Briefing the media in Lilongwe yesterday, he acknowledged that $35 million (about K40 billion) that was invested in the venture could not be accounted for.
He said his office would by any means recover the money adding that a team of investigators, prosecutors, and legal experts is already on the ground to arrest the culprits.
Said Nyirenda: “The private investors only own 12 percent of the shareholding so the company will continue to operate because the government has invested a lot in it and it is the majority shareholder at 88 percent”
He wondered how a private investor could be guaranteed $25 million (K30 billion) for raising loan capital while it failed to pay its equity share, contrary to the shareholding agreement.
Following the constitution of Green Belt Initiative (GBI), the government established Salima Sugar Company but because GBI did not possess the requisite technical know-how to operate the sugar processing plant, it sought a joint venture partner to operate and manage the project in Salima.
AUM Sugar and Allied Limited was identified as a potential partner for the project.
Government spokesperson Moses Kunkuyu, who accompanied the AG at the briefing, said the government will not shield anyone involved in the fraud at Salima Sugar Company.
