CSOs want Sattar to compensate Malawians
Youth and Society (YAS) and Spotlight on Corruption of the UK have renewed their call for businessperson Zuneth Sattar to compensate Malawians with at least $53 million should he be convicted in the UK.
The latest call comes against the background that the case is being pursued by the UK’s National Crimes Agency (NCA) which arrested Sattar in that country in 2021 for alleged corruption deals in Malawi.
In July last year, the two civil society organisations wrote the British Government, through the NCA, to return to Malawi assets and cash suspected to have been obtained from Malawi through questionable means by Sattar.
Sattar, who was later granted bail, has been at the centre of a joint investigation by NCA and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Malawi.
He is yet to be formally charged but some of his money in UK banks was frozen and assets such as vehicles impounded.
According to calculations by the two CSOs, the $53 million represents the gross profit Sattar made from various contracts that the Malawi government awarded his companies.
In an interview on Thursday, YAS executive director Charles Kajoloweka said they decided to write to the NCA again regarding compensation following information that the case would resume in the UK early this year.
Said Kajoloweka: “It’s their [Malawians’] wealth. The money belongs to the people of Malawi. It’s the only reasonable way justice will be seen to be served. Those resources need to be invested in programmes aimed at improving the living standards of the people.”
In a letter dated December 20 2024, addressed to NCA’s foreign affairs officer David Liebscher titled “Compensation for the harms of alleged corruption involving Zuneth Sattar,” the two CSOs expressed hope that full consideration would be given to recovering the proceeds of crime and returning funds stolen from developing countries.
The letter reads in part: “We believe that the total value of recent contracts awarded to Mr Sattar’s companies exceeds $79 million. Our calculations show Mr Sattar incurred just over $25 million in costs while standing to profit over $53 million.
“This means the contracts awarded to Mr Sattar were valued at more than three times what the Malawian government could have paid had they contracted directly with suppliers like Serac Nutritional Products or manufacturers like International Armoured Group FZE.”
While no charges have been filed yet, the CSOs argue that any orders for compensation and confiscation should follow a successful prosecution.
The letter stresses that identifying and assessing harms caused by alleged corruption should be part of the investigation from an early stage.
The CSOs also urge the NCA to notify potential victims early, allowing for meaningful engagement on compensation.
“In our view, this approach would be more appropriate for assessing compensation for alleged bribery involving Mr. Sattar, given the vastly inflated value of the contracts awarded to his companies. Compensation should account for the losses incurred by the government of Malawi in paying far more than they would have paid had they contracted with other suppliers,” reads the letter.
It states that the gross profit made by Sattar should serve as the starting point for assessing compensation that may be payable in the event of a successful prosecution.
The letter cites the alleged inflated prices from Sattar’s contracts, including gross profits of $24 384 000 from ration packs for the Malawi Police Service, $8 358 300 from water cannon trucks, and $12 200 650 from armoured personnel carriers for the Malawi Defence Force.
The CSOs also observed that the government has recently developed draft regulations to operationalise the Confiscation Fund, which could provide a vehicle for determining how any compensation should be used.
Liebscher had not responded to our inquiry on when the matter is coming in court in the UK, or the details of the case, but in his WhatsApp message to Kajoloweka and senior legal researcher for Spotlight on Corruption, Helen Taylor, the NCA official confirms receipt of the letter from YAS and Spotlight on Corruption as well as activity on the case.
“We have noted your letter and I have forwarded it to the assigned financial investigation team on that case.
Wrote Liebscher: “Please keep a close eye on our media very early in the new year for an important update on this case.”
Last year, ACB gave Sattar access to his bank accounts frozen in connection with investigations of some procurement deals his firms had with government ministries, departments and agencies.
ACB spokesperson Egrita Ndala said in an earlier interview that the accounts had been unfrozen because investigations revealed that they were not used for payments from the Malawi Government.
She said: “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.”
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.