Police question man over K2m Kondowe deposit
Fiscal police in Blantyre yesterday summoned for questioning a Pakistan businessperson in connection to the mysterious man that deposited K2 million into the bank account of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) director general Lucas Kondowe.
Police called the businessperson (name withheld because it was not confirmed by police) for questioning after analysis of the mobile call log and second CCTV footage linked him to the mysterious man who deposited K2 million into Kondowe’s account at First Merchant Bank (FMB) Blantyre Branch.
However, the man was released without being charged because, according to The Nation sources, “the police intend to consult with the Director of Public Prosecutions [DPP] on the possible charge since depositing money is not a crime”.
The man, who was reportedly accompanied by a lawyer, voluntarily went to fiscal police office in Blantyre yesterday in the afternoon.
One of the officers at fiscal police confirmed the meeting, but referred matter to National Police spokesperson Rhoda Manjolo, who said she could not provide information because she had no details.
But The Nation established that police took a caution statement from the man.
Said the police officer: “There were discussions between the ACB director general, fiscal police officer-in-charge for Southern Region, two investigators and [the man’s lawyer]”.
Kondowe yesterday confirmed attending the meeting at fiscal police, but refused to disclose the outcome, saying it was the police that was supposed to release the information.
A call log obtained from one of the mobile companies plus a second CCTV footage that The Nation has seen revealed the connection between the mysterious man that made the deposit and the suspected businessperson.
The call log shows that the telephone number 0995 326 499 started being used in Malawi on March 25 2015 at around 4.13pm and stopped working on April 2 2015 at around 11.25am after making 29 transactions.
A trace to the numbers in relation to the number reveals that most of the people the number made contacts with were journalists and media houses minus few that linked to some Pakistanis currently under probe. The journalists and media houses may have been trying to verify with him on who made the deposit and why after a bank deposit slip was mysteriously circulated to media houses.
A second CCTV footage shows the mysterious depositor walking out of the bulk deposit cubicle giving a nod to a person looking like a woman wearing a black cassock and hijab covering from head to toe, who walks into the same cubicle that the depositor had just left.
