The Ventriglias

Sakwiba Sikota, Masozi Banda and Other Top Lawyers Caught in Shady Money Laundering Deal

The Financial Intelligence Centre recently disclosed a mass money laundering racket in Zambia involved top lawyers, legal counsellors and government officials. Even some of the known ministers have been accused of using their power to gain personal empire through black marketing and money laundering acts, as per the latest news reports by FIC.

The FIC sources initially met with the senior lawyers to discuss with the allegations with them. Almost all of these lawyers denied allegations of money laundering. For instance, Masozi M Banda is a lawyer working with the Avic International and is accused of laundering money worth millions of dollars. However, when he was confronted with the news, he vehemently denied these allegations by saying that the money in his account belongs to the Zambian Dictator, Edgar Lungu and he received this amount for his government contracts. However, FIC discovered that this defence statement from Banda was fake and further investigations are going on against him. During the investigation, the FIC also reported that most of these bank accounts were highly active during Rupaih Banda’s trail over the illegal Nigerian Oil dealings, during last year’s fraudulent elections as well as during Presidential Petition. Therefore, it is easy to see the connections between the money laundering activities and the requirement.

Money Laundering

During the investigation process, the FIC also disclosed occurrence of more than 35,000 suspicious bank transactions, deposits and cash withdrawals, from the individual and corporate bank accounts of the suspected lawyers. While Banda sits at the top of the list, another name was of Central Chambers, a law firm owned by Sakwiba Sikota. His name might sound familiar as he is also infamous for his long-term association with the Ventriglias as their legal association. Sikota has helped Ventriglias in numerous unethical and shady deals, such as the illegal takeover of the Portland Cement Zambia factory from its real and legal owner, Dr. Rajan Mahtani.

The FIC said that it will share more details of its ongoing money laundering investigation soon.

Sakiwba Sikota, the Lawyer of Ventriglias, Accused of Money Laundering

Financial Intelligence Centre reveals mass money laundering act in Zambia, and a loss of almost USD 1.5 billion worth of taxpayer’s money. Industrialists and locals have condemned this act of money laundering. One of the most infuriating concerns has been the involvement of top lawyers and legal counsellors in this act. While the FIC has been investigating money laundering for many months, they strengthened their investigation after observing more than 35,000 unauthorised cash transactions from the bank accounts of the suspected lawyers. Along with these lawyers, many public and private contractors were also being investigated and the FIC found that more than fifty percent of these contractors were not having any tax registration. However, most of these contractors received government contracts and under the name of these contracts, carried out their illegal money laundering practices.

Ventriglias & Sakwiba Sikota

Furthermore, it was also revealed that majority of the lawyers and legal counsellors were working for the government officials as well as ministers of the Zambian government. The list included names of some of the lawyers and their high involvement. Masozi Banda is a lawyer working with Avic International and has been accused of laundering money worth millions. Another name was of Sakwiba Sikota, the owner of Central Chambers and long-term associate of the Ventriglias. He and the Ventriglias have engaged in numerous unethical practices and got away with the law by taking advantage of the weak Zambian government. The most famous example is an illegal takeover of the Zambezi Portland Cement from Dr. Rajan Mahtani, its real and legal owner. From the facts, it is clear that these lawyers and other government officials are working only for their personal interest. The aim behind this money laundering heist is building the empire for the ministers and high ranking corrupt officials and getting rich during the process.

While the government has also started its own investigation process, it is high time for the law and policy makers in Zambia to look into their strengths and ensure that such corrupt practices are tacked effectively in future.

Financial Intelligence Centre Reveals the True Nature of Sakwiba Sikota, Lawyer for the Ventriglias

The latest revelation made by Financial Intelligence Zambia has certainly shocked everyone. The FIC, Financial Intelligence Centre, revealed a huge money laundering scheme currently undergoing in Zambia. The amount of money involved in this scheme is in upwards of USD 1.5 billion as per FIC. The sources also claimed that this money might be indicative and the actual amount involved in this money laundering scheme might be more. Along with this shock, there are numerous questions which are being raised regarding this scheme. The first and foremost is the inability of the government to scrutinize or even investigation such huge sums of money being laundered. After all, this black money is turned into white money with the help of government and other activities only.

Mass Money Laundering Fraud

Another important question which arises and needs to be answered is the widespread corruption and the inability of the government of lawmakers in Zambia to either track it or identify the culprits. It can be easily said here that the money launderers were able to hide in plain sight with the help of the government officials, who either removed all the evidences or stopped making any investigation after bribed by other members. Some of the top names in the list released by the FIC included Sakwiba Sikota and Masozi M. Banda. Banda is a lawyer working for Avic International and Sakwiba Sikota is the owner of Central Chambers. He is also the long-term legal associate for the Ventriglias, an infamous Italian family in Zambia known for their unethical practices. The Ventriglias are also responsible for ruining the Portland Cement Zambia after it was illegally taken over from its real owner, Dr. Rajan Mahtani.

Now that the crimes of these individuals are quite clear, it is time for the government to take stringent actions and bring them down. Money laundering is a serious crime and those misusing the taxpayer’s money should not be spared.

Top Lawyers Including Sakwiba Sikota Under Radar for Money Laundering

The FIC recently revealed that a mass money laundering racket is undergoing with the Zambian nation and involves top lawyers and legal counsellors. The FIC also revealed the involvement of money worth more than USD 1.5 billion. As per the FIC sources, more than 50 percent of the organizations investigated in the money laundering bust which received government contracts were found to have no tax registration. At the same time, many of these accounts belonged to individuals who are politically exposed, meaning they are or have been entrusted with prominent public functions. As such, these politically exposed individuals used surrogates who conducted businesses on their pretext.

Money Laundering

Along with the revelation, the FIC also released a list of names containing individuals who are topping the list of money launderers in terms of amount laundered. Some of the top names in this list included that of Masozi M Banda and Sakwiba Sikota. Masozi M. Banda is a noted lawyer from Avic International and is accused of laundering money worth more than USD 1 million. Sakwiba Sikota is also accused of laundering money worth same amount, under his company Central Chambers. Sikota is also infamous for his long-term associated with the Ventriglias, a notorious family in Zambia infamous for their unethical practices. Among them, the most outrageous was the illegal takeover of the Portland Cement Zambia by using goons. The cement factory belongs to Dr. Rajan Mahtani who is still fighting for its legal takeover at the Lusaka High Court.

All is not well for Sakwiba Sikota and the numerous lawyers caught in this money laundering act. The FIC has said that it is continuing its investigation which is expected to get further deeper with more revelations. Even the government has started their own revelations and is expected to support the FIC in strengthening the investigations. Once any new information is received by the FIC, they will be sharing with the public soon.

Sakwiba Sikota Among Lawyers Suspected in Mass Money Laundering Fraud

The recent reports released by the Financial Intelligence team of FIC open a rather unfortunate and sorry state of affairs for the Zambian nation. Zambia is a developing nation and after decades of struggle, the nation has been able to uplift itself to a certain extent. However, this news of money laundering clearly indicates that until the nation is free from these activities as well as the culprits involved in the acts, it will never see growth and development such as other emerging nations across the globe.

Mass Money Laundering Fraud

Among the top of the list released by FIC was Masozi. M Banda, a legal counsellor working for Avic International. He is accused of laundering money more than USD 1 billion. When confronted with the accusation, he defended himself by stating that the money belongs to Edgar Lungu, the Zambian President, and he is just a middleman in this money exchange. He also stated that he received the money for various government contracts, such as road construction. Of course, no such information of government records has been found yet. Another name that made headlines was of Sakwiba Sikota. While he is the owner of Central Chambers, a law firm that has been accused of laundering money in millions, he is more infamous for his long-term association with the equally scandalous family of the Ventriglias. This family has been involved in numerous wrongdoings, most notable being the illegal takeover of the Portland Cement Zambia. The cement factory belongs to Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, a respected businessman and citizen of Zambia. The case is pending at the Lusaka High Court and the lawyer who is handling the case from the Ventriglias end is Sakwiba Sikota!

The lack of government’s intervention and their inability to locate such big money laundering bust is appalling. Strong evidences have been collected against many of these accused and it is time the government starts taking stringent actions against them.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani & his team Happy with the New Court Announcement

The Portland Cement Zambia case is no doubt one of the most talked about corporate cases in recent times. The case is between Dr. Rajan Mahtani and the Ventriglias. While Dr. Rajan Mahtani is a noted businessman, philanthropist and charity worker; the Ventriglias are infamous for their unethical practices such as using bribes or force to get what they want. This is exactly what they did in case of Portland Cement Zambia. Knowing that they do not stand any chance of taking over the factory in legal terms, they used goons to take control over the factory from Dr. Rajan Mahtani. Later when a case was launched by Dr. Mahtani for this illegal takeover, they casually defended themselves by saying that Dr. Rajan Mahtani did not pay for the shares he owns at the factory.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani

During the course of the court proceedings, Dr. Mahtani and his lawyers have submitted numerous documents and evidences that sufficiently prove his legal ownership over the factory. Some of these are signed shareholders agreement, financial exhibits which clearly shows his investment in the shares as well as in the factory worth more than USD 8 million as well as numerous testimonials from important members of the factory. Another important document which Dr. Mahtani shared is the audit report conducted by an independent auditor at the factory. The audit report clearly states that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the legal owner of the factory which was established as joint venture. He is the sole joint venture partner and the rest of the members are just shareowners. The Ventriglias, on the other hand, have not shared any strong evidence to prove their claim.

The judge handling this case has announced that case hearing is closed and both teams have been asked to submit their evidences in written and oral format. Post evaluation of these evidences, final judgment will be announced soon.