It wasn’t me! Mwanamvekha denies Mulli

The controversy surrounding Malawi Savings Bank (MSB) which was mysteriously sold to FDH Bank refuses to die as details continue to emerge.

This week former Finance Minister Joseph Mwanamvekha has denied any involvement in the alleged loan deal between Government and Mulli Brothers Limited (MBL) and the controversy surrounding the selling of the bank to FDH Bank owned by business magnet Thom Mpinganjira.

Mwanamvekha, the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesperson on Finance who is also former Malawi Savings Bank (MSB) chief executive officer, has told Malawi24 he is not aware of the infinity deal that bailed ot Mulli at the expense of the bank.

Mwanamvekha insisted that he was never involved at any stage involving the sale of MSB to FDH Bank.

There have been claims linking Mwanamvekha to the loan deal which government and Mulli Brother Limited (MBL) signed allowing the company to repay its K10.5 billion MSB loan over a period of 167 years.

But Mwanamvekha says the deal was not signed last year during his time as Finance Minister or when he was MSB CEO, a role which he left in 2009.

“If indeed the purported loan repayment deal exists, [I’m] not aware of it and [I was] never a signatory.  If anyone is interested to know the truth, he may contact the Ministry of Finance or indeed Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) for details,” the minister said in a statement to Malawi24.

He also noted that at the time the bank was being sold in 2015, he was Minister of Trade in the Peter Mutharika administration, insisting that he did not have the influence that helped sway the cabinet when the Mulli loan and the selling of MSB to Thom Mpinganjira’s FDH Bank was being deliberated. The latter is currently answering charges of corruption on allegations that he attempted to bribe judges presiding over the presidential elections court case to rule in favour of the then President Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party. He too maintains his innocence.