Former vice president, late Saulos Chilima, State House Chief of Staff Prince Kapondamgaga, former Malawi Police Service (MPS) Inspector General (IG) George Kainja and former Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Reyneck Matemba have been mentioned in charges which businessperson Zunneth Sattar is facing in the United Kingdom.
Satter, who is facing 18 charges related to bribing foreign officials, is expected to appear before the Central London Magistrate Court tomorrow Friday, May 30 2025.
UK’s National Crimes Agency (NCA) which arrested Sattar in that country in 2021 for alleged corruption deals in Malawi.
In all the charges, he is accused of obtaining or retaining business or advantage in the conduct of business, bribed a foreign public official with the intention of influencing his capacity as a foreign public official.
If found guilty, according to the charge sheet which we have seen, Sattar is expected to either serve 12 months in jail and/or unlimited fines on each charge.
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.
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 that the accounts had been unfrozen because investigations revealed that they were not used for payments from the Malawi Government.
“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,” she said
After arresting Chilima and subsequently charged him with corruption, the ACB later dropped the charges.
The graft-busting body also dropped charged against Kapondamgaga after he surrendered a Mercedes Benz he received businessperson Zunneth Sattar.
“The investigations had established that Mr. Kapondamgaga, the State House Chief of Staff was one of the public officers who had received a Mercedes Benz S Class 350d and other gifts from Mr Zuneth Sattar. Mr. Kapondamgaga voluntarily gave a statement to the Bureau and signed a restitution agreement with the Bureau. At the moment, he has already surrenderedthe Mercedes Benz S Class 350d.
“After a review of the evidence against Mr Kapondamgaga in this case, evaluation of the information he provided in respect of the broader investigations relating to Zuneth Sattar and the restitution agreement he has voluntarily entered with the Bureau, a prosecutorial discretion has been exercised not to lay criminal charges against him. Accordingly, the Bureau has completed and closed the investigations against him. Pursuant to its powers under Section 10 (4) of the Corrupt Practices Act,” reads ACB Statement released
Recently, the Youth and Society (YAS) called on Sattar to compensate Malawians with at least $53 million should he be convicted in the UK.
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.”
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.”
