London Court orders former President to pay back

ZANIS – A London High Court has held Former second republican president Frederick Chiluba and four others to have conspired in defrauding Zambia of US$25 million and US$21 million respectively from two major conspiracies.

The funds were mostly siphoned from the Zamtrop account, a London branch of the Zambia National Commercial Bank and the BK conspiracy fraud, which involved the payment of US$20 million to Richard Soriano, alias Katebe Katoto, for the supply of millitary armour to the Zambian Government. And the London High Court presided by Judge Peter Smith, has ordered Chiluba to return 85 per cent of the US$21 million he is alleged to have plundered during his tenure within 14 days of receipt of the order.Judge Smith said this in his interim judgement in London, monitored via video conferencing at Chikwa Courts in Lusaka on Friday.This is in a case in which Chiluba, Former Intelligence Chief Xavier Chungu, former Finance Permanent Secretary Stella Chibanda and two former directors of Access Financial Services, Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu, are accused of plunder of state funds involving millions of dollars.In his ruling, Chiluba, Kabwe and Chibanda have also been held to have broken the mandatory duties they owed to the Zambian people.The court also held Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu to have dishonestly assisted in defrauding the country.The court also ruled that former Zambian ambassador to the United States Attan Shansonga, is held liable for dishonest assistance in the sum of US$2,9 million, the sums of stolen government money found in his accounts.Judge Smith adjudged Raphael Soriano, a Congolese national resident in Belgium, to have fully participated with Chiluba and his accomplices in the BK conspiracy and to be liable to the misappropriation of US$21 million of stolen Zambian government money.Boutique Basile, a Swiss tailors firm where Chiluba acquired most of his designer clothes, was found liable for US$1,2 million and dishonest assistance.The case was taken to the High Court in London because of the money that passed through accounts in London and then disbursed to Switzerland, Belgium, and the US.London was at the centre of wrongdoing by 20 defendants based in Zambia, England, Belgium, Switzerland and the US.In order to have an effective remedy, the Zambian government had to sue the defendants in London.The genesis of the investigation of the claims pursued in the litigation was the establishment of the Task Force on Corruption by President Levy Mwanawasa in 2002.The Task Force was mandated to investigate allegations of plunder of national resources under Chiluba’s reign.But Chiluba, in his interim reaction to the judgement, maintained that he will not recognise the authority of the London High Court in its attempt to try him in matters that are Zambian as it has no jurisdiction.He said there is no reasonable justification to have taken the case before a foreign jurisdiction because he was not facing charges of crimes against humanity or human rights violations.Chiluba said Zambia is an independent and sovereign state and that therefore, Zambian courts should handle claims for and on behalf of Zambians.He contended that the case proceeded without his defence and representation saying the outcome smacks of political malice and was designed to suit the sponsors of the process.Chiluba has since been given 14 days in which to appeal against the judgement.Nampa-ZanaAnd the London High Court presided by Judge Peter Smith, has ordered Chiluba to return 85 per cent of the US$21 million he is alleged to have plundered during his tenure within 14 days of receipt of the order.Judge Smith said this in his interim judgement in London, monitored via video conferencing at Chikwa Courts in Lusaka on Friday.This is in a case in which Chiluba, Former Intelligence Chief Xavier Chungu, former Finance Permanent Secretary Stella Chibanda and two former directors of Access Financial Services, Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu, are accused of plunder of state funds involving millions of dollars.In his ruling, Chiluba, Kabwe and Chibanda have also been held to have broken the mandatory duties they owed to the Zambian people.The court also held Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu to have dishonestly assisted in defrauding the country.The court also ruled that former Zambian ambassador to the United States Attan Shansonga, is held liable for dishonest assistance in the sum of US$2,9 million, the sums of stolen government money found in his accounts.Judge Smith adjudged Raphael Soriano, a Congolese national resident in Belgium, to have fully participated with Chiluba and his accomplices in the BK conspiracy and to be liable to the misappropriation of US$21 million of stolen Zambian government money.Boutique Basile, a Swiss tailors firm where Chiluba acquired most of his designer clothes, was found liable for US$1,2 million and dishonest assistance.The case was taken to the High Court in London because of the money that passed through accounts in London and then disbursed to Switzerland, Belgium, and the US.London was at the centre of wrongdoing by 20 defendants based in Zambia, England, Belgium, Switzerland and the US.In order to have an effective remedy, the Zambian government had to sue the defendants in London.The genesis of the investigation of the claims pursued in the litigation was the establishment of the Task Force on Corruption by President Levy Mwanawasa in 2002.The Task Force was mandated to investigate allegations of plunder of national resources under Chiluba’s reign.But Chiluba, in his interim reaction to the judgement, maintained that he will not recognise the authority of the London High Court in its attempt to try him in matters that are Zambian as it has no jurisdiction.He said there is no reasonable justification to have taken the case before a foreign jurisdiction because he was not facing charges of crimes against humanity or human rights violations.Chiluba said Zambia is an independent and sovereign state and that therefore, Zambian courts should handle claims for and on behalf of Zambians.He contended that the case proceeded without his defence and representation saying the outcome smacks of political malice and was designed to suit the sponsors of the process.Chiluba has since been given 14 days in which to appeal against the judgement.Nampa-Zana