By Kombe Mataka
TRANSPARENCY International Zambia (TIZ) says it is elated that President Hakainde Hichilema has given his word that the trends report will be forwarded to law enforcement agencies in its original form for them to take action on the issues raised.
In a statement, TIZ said the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) 2021 trends report shows an attempt at being comprehensive, and provides sufficient information on which government and other stakeholders can design measures to address crime concerns highlighted in the report.
“We therefore implore law enforcement agencies to demonstrate proactiveness in instituting investigations into all the issues highlighted in the 2021 trends report, and we look forward to those
involved in any impropriety in this regard being made to fully account for their actions,” executive director Maurice Nyambe said.
He said the report contributed significantly
to the fight against corruption.
“The 2021 trends report has the potential to contribute significantly to the fight against corruption and the promotion of good governance,
if law enforcement agencies take a proactive approach in following up the cases featured in the report,’’ Nyambe said further. ‘’TI-Z would like to address some more specific aspects of the 2021 report and to share recommendations we are making to government in relation to the issues raised in the report.’’
Nyambe reminisced on the various FIC reports and how the government and public reacted.
‘’The 2021 report, which was released on Thursday 23rd June 2022, is the 7th trends report to be released since 2014, and covers a critical year in Zambia’s democratic history. The year 2021 is notable due to the holding of the presidential and general elections amidst a politically volatile environment and an elevated impact of the pandemic. The report also comes after a change of regime, from one which muzzled the operational independence of the FIC – a concern we raised in our response to the release of the FIC annual report in July last year – to one that seemingly has the political will to combat corruption,” he said. “We have noted that in 2021, the FIC analysed a total of 211 Suspicious
Transactions Reports (STRs) out of which 44 intelligence reports were disseminated to law enforcement agencies. The value of the
disseminated intelligence reports was K3.56 billion compared to K3.14 billion in 2020 and K984 million in 2019, entailing that there has been an astonishing 262% increase in these transactions over a two-year period. A more detailed analysis revealed that the majority of STR received were about large or unusual cash deposits and
withdrawals, as well as large or unusual inward remittances from companies or individuals that were awarded government contracts. It is clear from the analysis that while the number of STRs received by the FIC has been increasing over the years, the number of cases analysed has reduced from 425 in 2017 to 211 in 2021, entailing a reduction of around 50% over four years.“
Nyambe noted however that the 2021 trends report was based on less than 8.2 per cent of the STRs reported.
He said this suggested that the actual losses due to corruption and other financial crimes were likely be far greater than the reported values.
“TI-Z is gravely concerned by this as we believe that it does not provide the full picture of what is transpiring in relation to financial crimes. This makes it difficult to design measures intended
to address these crimes as the full scope of the same is clearly not known,” said Nyambe.
“During the year 2021, the FIC froze a total of 55 bank accounts held with eight commercial banks to allow for further verification and analysis on suspicion of theft, corrupt activities, tax evasion and money laundering. The amounts frozen were US$ 30.3 million, K292.8 million and EUR1,685.31. While TI-Z commends the seeming proactiveness
of the FIC in this regard, we are of the considered view that the report should have gone further to give an update of the status of the verification and analysis of the suspected corrupt activities
associated with those accounts. Is the verification still going on? Do the accounts remain frozen? When will the nation be updated about the results of this verification? These are some of the questions that arise as a result of the limited information the report has given on the frozen bank.”