Germany court grants order on K563m AIP funds
The High Administrative Court in Munich, Germany, has issued a final Confiscation Order on the $543 750 (about K563 million) from the botched K750 million Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP) deal.
In an interview on Friday, Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka-Nyirenda confirmed receiving communication from the Munich court about the Confiscation Order.
He said authorities in Germany were in the process of enforcing the order on the bank holding the frozen funds.
The AG said the bank responsible would in turn transfer the funds into the bank account of the Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM), custodians of the funds that suffered fraud.
He said: “The Bavarian court in Munich has issued a final confiscation order in respect of the 516 000 euros that was paid to Mr Andrei Grunbaum through authorized push payment fraud.
“By the end of July the money should reflect in the Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund account.”
On the backlash received over delays in recovering the money, Chakaka-Nyirenda said it was not easy to please everyone.
“It’s not possible to please everyone as in trying to please everyone you will end up pleasing nobody,” he said.
Communication we have seen from the Munich Public Protector to SFFRFM confirms that a confiscation order has been issued with legal effect against Andrei Grünbaum, who created the account where funds were transferred to on behalf of Barkaat Foods Limited.
It reads: “This notification is made in order to give you the opportunity to assert your rights for compensation with the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office I or to inform you whether you have already enforced/will enforce your rights elsewhere and, if applicable, that measures have already been taken in this regard.
“To assert your claims with the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office I, please register your claims with the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office I within six months of receipt of this notification.”
The Munich court issued an interim order earlier while waiting for this final order. There was also an application for permission to file for summary punishment which the Munich court granted before the actual hearing.
Human Rights Defenders Coalition chairperson Gift Trapence yesterday termed the development a sigh of relief to Malawians.
“We urge the Malawi Government to keep on fighting for full recovery of the funds,” he said.
On October 13 2022, former Ministry of Agriculture Principal Secretary Sandram Maweru said SFFRFM had a contract with Barkaat Foods Limited of the United Kingdom for the supply of fertiliser for the 2022/23 AIP.
He said the company demanded a commitment fee of about K750 million to lock the price, but the firm failed to deliver the goods, leading to the AG’s efforts to recover the funds.
The botched deal irked President Lazarus Chakwera who on October 25 2022 sacked then minister of Agriculture Lobin Lowe and his deputy Madalitso Kambauwa Wirima for purportedly failing to provide leadership.
