HRDC wants firm probed for tax evasion

The Human Right s Defenders Coa l i tion (HRDC) has written the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to probe a private business entity trading as H Adam Wholesalers Neferius on allegations of tax evasion.

In a letter dated March 17 2021 signed by HRDC chairperson Gift Trapence and national coordinator Luke Tembo addressed to ACB deputy director general Elias Bodole, the coalition alleges that the company was attempting to bribe Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) officials to evade taxes.

Reads the letter in part: “It is further alleged that he [the proprietor] has been externalising money to invest in properties in the UK [United Kingdom], South Africa [SA] and United Arab Emirates [UAE].

“It is also further alleged that the wholesale has been importing foodstuffs and bypassing Malawi Bureau of Standards [MBS] certification.”

HRDC also wants MRA and the Financial Intelligence Authority to investigate the proprietor on tax evasion allegations including how the owner accumulated wealth abroad.

On whether HRDC has provided evidence supporting its claims, Trapence yesterday said governance institutions are in an appropriate position to get to the bottom of the issue.

He said: “These are allegations that need to be investigated more [by the investigating authorities].”

Bodole last evening said the bureau was yet to receive the letter; hence, could not comment on the matter.

Efforts to talk to one of the directors of the company, Mohammad Farid Sattar, proved futile as his phone could not be reached. Despite our WhatsApp text message going through, he did not respond by press time.

HRDC is currently engaged in a whistle-blower initiative which, among others, is exposing corrupt dealings, mostly in relation to government-owned institutions and officials