BEFORE TURKY TRIP, MALANJI’S ACCOUNTS WERE EMPTY, MUKELEBAI TELLS COURT
JOE Malanji’s company bank accounts were as depleted as the Kariba Dam but became flooded with cash after he undertook a trip to Turkey in 2020, according to a meticulous investigation carried out by a top investigator of the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC).
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This was heard during a hearing in the continuing case against Malanji, a former foreign affairs minister in the Edgar Lungu regime accused of dubiously possessing two helicopters, BELL430 and a BELL 206 Jet Ranger helicopter, and houses.
In this case former secretary to the treasury Fredson Yamba and Malanji, are accused of failing to adhere to guidelines relating to the management of public resources and possessing property suspected to be proceeds of crime.
Yamba is alleged to have abrogated the law relating to the management of public property when he approved the transfer of K154,201,197 for the purchase of a chancery in Turkey.
Testifying before the Economic and Financial Crimes Court yesterday, Kwaleye Mukelabai said Malanji’s company accounts were penniless and was only flooded with cash after his Morocco and Turkey trips.
In his previous testimony, Mukelabai said Malanji had used the presidential jet to run the million dollar errands between Turkey and Morocco and Zambia as a special envoy of former Head of State, Edgar Lungu.
In yesterday’s testimony, Mukelabai contended that Malanji’s decision to write Stanbic in October 2020, requesting it to inform the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) that he would be depositing dollars in cash into his company account, was predetermined to divert public funds.
Mukelabai told the court presided over by magistrate Irene Wishimanga that during interrogations Malanji had told him that the source of the funds for the helicopters he had procured, came from the contracts the Gibson Power Systems had with China Civil engineering Construction Corporation in Lubumbashi DRC.
He said Malanji provided documents: a sub contract, some withdraw slips showing that Mass investment Limited had paid Gibson Power Systems: He also provided some receipts which were showing that he received cash from the DRC, documents showing that there were interim payments certificates, a letter written by himself to Stanbic Bank which was showing that it was from Cosmopolitan Branch.
Mukelabai said Malanji showed him some documents from Raw Bank, showing Mass investment had made cash payments to
Gibson Power systems.
He said the documents showing the said payments were fake as Charles Kabozya a Congolese magistrate established that, China Civil Engineering and Mass Investment never dealt with Gibson Power Systems.
Mukelabai said according to Kabozya Raw bank also discredited statement by Malanji that Mass investment made cash payments to his company Gibson Power Systems, as the seven withdraw slips and bank statements he provided legally back up his statement, were falsified.
“Mr Malanji had written a letter to Stanbic on October 15, 2020 asking Stanbic Bank to inform the Central Bank (BoZ) that, at some point in future he would be depositing US$100, 000 in cash, which would come from the contract which Gibson Power Systems had in Congo,” he said.
“To this letter he (Malanji) had attached the contract between China Civil Engineering Corporation and Gibson Power Systems.”
Mukelabai said his investigations revealed that Malanji’s companies had no business in the neighboring country neither did they make profits.
“The letter was pre-determined to divert funds.
After going to DR Congo, I established that there was no money that came from Congo,”Mukelabai said.
“The only money I traced as having been deposited as stated by Mr Malanji was the money he started depositing on December 31, 2020 when he came back from Turkey.”
He told the Court that Parliament issued documents of Malanji’s earnings between 2016 and 2021 comprising of his allowances, salaries and gratuity, which were cumulative to K5.1 million.
Mukelabai said he later extended his investigations to Civil Aviation Authority and Francis Mutukumina availed him registration documents for BELL 206 and the application was made by Gibson Air Charters
The matter comes up on September 19, 2024 at 14:00hours.
Kalemba