{"id":59575,"date":"2024-02-27T22:02:12","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T22:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments"},"modified":"2024-02-27T22:14:40","modified_gmt":"2024-02-27T22:14:40","slug":"anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments","title":{"rendered":"Anti-Corruption Bureau to probe Zuneth Sattar payments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. <\/strong><\/span>The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) says it will investigate if any law has been broken after the government made payments to United Kingdom (UK)-based businessman Zuneth Sattar, who is the subject of an investigation both in Malawi and UK for alleged corruption. Consequently, all his government contracts were announced to have been cancelled.<\/p>\n

The bureau made the statement Monday in response to a questionnaire by The Daily Times following controversy ignited by Monday\u2019s revelations by this newspaper that the Malawi Defense Force (MDF) has already made part-payment amounting to $4,983,400 to International Armoured Group, a Sattar-linked company.<\/p>\n

ACB spokesperson Egrita Ndala said the bureau will probe the matter. Asked specifically if the payments for a contract which the government announced was cancelled were lawful or a breach of the law, Ndala responded: \u201cThere is [a] need for a fresh investigation to establish circumstances surrounding this.\u201d<\/p>\n

On whether the ACB was consulted before the payment, Ndala said: \u201cGovernment does not consult the bureau when making payments to suppliers. Therefore, there was no consultation on this matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said, legally, ACB\u2019s hands to stop payments from contracts under investigation were restrained when the Attorney General announced the cancellation of the contracts, adding that the bureau was not informed before the payment was made for it to take any action to stop the payment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bureau issued a Restriction Notice on 1st November 2021. The Attorney General cancelled the contracts thereafter in January 2021. This means that the Restriction Notice automatically fell off as it cannot apply on a cancelled contract,\u201d Ndala said.<\/p>\n

She said the ACB has not stopped Sattar investigations, saying \u201call Zuneth Sattar-related investigations are open and are continuing within the bureau\u201d.<\/p>\n

Quizzed why the bureau did not seek a fresh restriction order after the government previously also paid Sattar despite claiming to have cancelled the contracts, Ndala said the bureau is not aware of previous payments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bureau was not informed of this payment for the APCs. We got information of this payment also through the media,\u201d Ndala said.<\/p>\n

In a statement and through interviews Monday, we learned that 12 civil society organisations (CSOs) that operate in the governance sector have demanded the immediate suspension of all dealings with companies belonging to the businessman and described the government\u2019s actions as a big blow to the fight against corruption in the country. Among other things, the CSOs demanded the immediate suspension of the deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government\u2019s revival of the armored vehicles deal with Sattar, despite a restriction order from the Anti-Corruption Bureau, reveals a disregard for due process. The subsequent transfer of the deal to International Armoured Group and the diversion of substantial funds raise concerns about the potential breaches of anti-corruption laws and procurement regulations,\u201d the statement reads.<\/p>\n

In a separate interview, Youth and Society Executive Director Charles Kajoloweka, one of signatories to the CSOs statement, condemned what he termed as a clandestine attempt to revive the sale agreement for 16 military armoured vehicles, previously cancelled by the Attorney General on January 11 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis shocking move raises serious concerns about the government\u2019s commitment to transparency, accountability and the rule of law. Beyond legal violations, this covert deal perpetuates corruption, betrays public trust and jeopardises national security,\u201d Kajoloweka said. Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda was yet to respond to our questions as we went to press.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Malawi<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) says it will investigate if any law has been broken after the government made payments to United Kingdom (UK)-based businessman Zuneth Sattar, who is the subject of an investigation both in Malawi and UK for alleged corruption. Consequently, all his government contracts were announced to have been cancelled. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":59573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233,371,234],"class_list":["post-59575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-malawi","tag-malawi"],"yoast_head":"\nAnti-Corruption Bureau to probe Zuneth Sattar payments - Malawi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) says it will investigate if any law has been broken after the government made payments ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Anti-Corruption Bureau to probe Zuneth Sattar payments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) says it will investigate if any law has been broken after the government made payments ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-27T22:02:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-27T22:14:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/02\/sm_1709059285.85344.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Anti-Corruption Bureau to probe Zuneth Sattar payments\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-27T22:02:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-27T22:14:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments\"},\"wordCount\":574,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/02\/sm_1709059285.85344.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Malawi\",\"Malawi\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments\",\"name\":\"Anti-Corruption Bureau to probe Zuneth Sattar payments - Malawi\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/02\/sm_1709059285.85344.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-27T22:02:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-27T22:14:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) says it will investigate if any law has been broken after the government made payments ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/02\/sm_1709059285.85344.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/02\/sm_1709059285.85344.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"Anti-Corruption Bureau to probe Zuneth Sattar payments\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Anti-Corruption Bureau to probe Zuneth Sattar payments\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/\",\"name\":\"Malawi\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Anti-Corruption Bureau to probe Zuneth Sattar payments - Malawi","description":"The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) says it will investigate if any law has been broken after the government made payments ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Anti-Corruption Bureau to probe Zuneth Sattar payments","og_description":"The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) says it will investigate if any law has been broken after the government made payments ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments","og_site_name":"Malawi","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2024-02-27T22:02:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-02-27T22:14:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/02\/sm_1709059285.85344.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Anti-Corruption Bureau to probe Zuneth Sattar payments","datePublished":"2024-02-27T22:02:12+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-27T22:14:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments"},"wordCount":574,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/02\/sm_1709059285.85344.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Malawi","Malawi"],"articleSection":["all news","policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments","name":"Anti-Corruption Bureau to probe Zuneth Sattar payments - Malawi","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/02\/sm_1709059285.85344.jpg","datePublished":"2024-02-27T22:02:12+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-27T22:14:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) says it will investigate if any law has been broken after the government made payments ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/02\/sm_1709059285.85344.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/02\/sm_1709059285.85344.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"caption":"Anti-Corruption Bureau to probe Zuneth Sattar payments"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/anti-corruption-bureau-to-probe-zuneth-sattar-payments#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Anti-Corruption Bureau to probe Zuneth Sattar payments"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/","name":"Malawi","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}