The Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court in Lilongwe has controversially discharged the directors of Paramount Holdings Limited and the company itself of all criminal charges, bringing a conclusive end to a legal battle that started in 2021.
In a ruling made on Friday, June 27, 2025, the court cleared Paramount Holdings directors Prakash Virji Ghedia, Arvindkumar Atit Patel, and Suresh Khimji Jagatiya, along with the company, of three charges, including conspiracy to commit a felony and the alleged use of false documents to obtain a government tender.
The court issued an order prohibiting the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from pursuing any further charges related to the matter against the individuals or the company.
Reacting to this development, Gift Katundu, the Legal Counsel representing the three, including the company, said they were excited about the ruling.
“As representatives of the three, including Paramount Holdings Limited, we are very happy with the ruling as this gives freedom to their clients to do business in Malawi, you know this case had put their day to day transaction to a halt but now I think we have made good progress”, he said.
The charges, initially filed in July 2021, were based on a complaint by Hendrix Laher, Director of Luthando Holdings Limited, a business competitor. Laher alleged that Paramount Holdings had submitted a forged Yamaha dealership certificate to win a motorcycle supply tender issued by JHPIEGO, an international health NGO.
Court documents reveal that both Paramount and Luthando Holdings had submitted bids to supply Yamaha motorcycles to several entities, including the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Local Government, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, and JHPIEGO. The tender was awarded to Paramount Holdings on July 7, 2020. Laher subsequently complained to the Fiscal and Fraud Section of the Malawi Police Service.
