Malawi: Rex Chikoko reveals 14 firms under investigation
Rex Chikoko, of The Nation in Malawi, has revealed that at least 14 companies are being investigated by fiscal agencies for illegally moving money out of the country using fake Revenue Authority documents, counterfeit invoices and shell firms.
Published on 2nd May 2015, this article includes a quote from Malawi Revenue Authority spokesperson Steven Kapoloma stating that they “expect the tax evaded and forex externalized to be in billions of kwacha” [US$ 22 million].
Exclusive: 14 Malawi firms under probe for K10bn illegal externalization
Malawi fiscal agencies are investigating at least 14 companies suspected of illegally externalising around K10 billion from Malawi over the past three years, Weekend Nation can reveal.
Documents we have seen from Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM), Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) show that the companies—mostly owned by businesspersons of Asian origin—have been using fake Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) documents, counterfeit invoices and shell firms allegedly under the guise of importing goods to wire money out of foreign currency-strapped Malawi.
It is estimated that the alleged illicit financial transactions by the companies under probe may have cost Malawi around $22 million (K10 billion) in foreign currency without the country receiving the purported goods. Click here for full article.
