Malawi police on Monday arrested five former government officials, including ex-finance minister Joseph Mwanamveka, over allegations of embezzling around $250 million from two state-owned companies.
The other officials arrested include Lloyd Muhara, former Secretary to the President; Cliff Chiunda, former Treasury Secretary; and Collins Magalasi, former CEO of Malawi’s Energy Regulatory Authority.
According to police, the alleged embezzlement occurred at the Salima Sugar Company and Greenbelt Initiative, with the total amount misused estimated to be around 447.5 billion kwacha ($258 million).
The arrests were confirmed by the suspects’ lawyer, Kalekeni Kaphale and the Malawi police spokesman Peter Kalaya revealed in a statement that the arrests followed an audit in 2023 that revealed significant misuse of funds at the Salima Sugar Company.
This is not the first time officials from the company have been arrested. In 2023, former Salima director Shierish Betgiri and three others were taken into custody in connection with the same case.
The total number of arrested suspects has now reached nine with the arrest of five more individuals on Monday , according to the police statement releasedThe arrested ex-officials served under former President Peter Mutharika and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) from 2014 to 2020, before being ousted by President Lazarus Chakwera in 2020. The DPP is now the main opposition party in the country.
Authorities are still searching for Henry Njoloma, the former acting CEO of Greenbelt Initiative, who remains at large and the five who were arrested will be presented in court once police have completed taking their statements.