ACB probes Bingu Jersey account
Jersey authorities in Europe has moved in to assist the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to investigate former president the late Bingu wa Mutharika, his younger brother Peter Mutharika and his two daughters and a son for suspected fraud.
The late president, according to documents from Jersey authorities The Nation has seen, opened a joint account with his daughter Duwa where it is believed that a suspected offence involving serious and complex fraud took place.
The ACB asked Her Majesty of Jersey to help it investigate a suspected fraud relating to bank account number 58099848, Optimum account, held in the name of Bingu wa Mutharika and Duwa Kafoteka, the late president’s daughter.
In a letter dated May 14 2014, Jersey Attorney General (AG) wrote Standard Bank Jersey Limited asking the bank to disclose information relating to the people under investigation in the name of Bingu wa Mutharika, his son Madaliso, daughters Tapiwa and Duwa and his brother, Peter.
A Crown advocate in the AG’s office, Andrew John Belhomme, wrote to the bank: “It appears to the Attorney General that there exists a suspected offence involving serious or complex fraud and that there is good reason for him to exercise the powers conferred upon him by the Investigation of Fraud [Jersey] Law, 1991, as amended.
“I have reasons to believe that you have information about the affairs of the persons under investigation and I, therefore, require you to answer questions or…otherwise furnish information with respect to matters relevant to the investigation to myself or to any person designated to assist in this investigation.”
The advocate said he also required the bank to produce within 21 days from May 14 2014 true copies of account opening, mandates, reports and details of signatories, know-your-customer documentation, bank statements, paid cheques, transaction advices and correspondence (including records of telephone conversations and meetings and managers’ notes) relating to the account.
The Jersey authorities said the documents required shall cover the period from account opening to date and covering the period from May 1 2004 to date.
Mutharika has been under probe after his death on April 5 2012 while serving as president of Malawi.
His wealth believed to be in billions of kwacha amassed within eight years of his rule has stirred controversy, with ACB investigating the matter locally and internationally.
The late president’s brother, Peter, who is also named in the fraud probe, is among the four leading presidential candidates in the elections taking place tomorrow (Tuesday).
Jersey, an Island, is part of the ancient Duchy of Normandy, and is ruled by the Duke of Normandy—a title held by the reigning Monarch of the United Kingdom, though unrelated to those duties as king or queen of the UK, according to the information on the Internet.
