Senior government officials including cabinet ministers are allegedly shielding the arrest of systematic tax evasion suspect, Faizal Latif, who owns Mapeto David Whitehead & Sons.
A whistleblower says police were expected to arrest Faizal yesterday but they were stopped following a directive from senior government officials.
“Faizal Latif was supposed to be arrested today….koma mabwana aletsa,” wrote the whistleblower.
The Malawi Revenue Authority has been investigating Faizal over K0.7 billion tax evasion. The investigation followed reports that the businessperson and his company imported 246 bales of Java Wax fabric, 5,300 bales of mixed rolls of fabric, different types of tyres and bales of second hand clothes without paying tax.
In 2019, MRA also launched a probe into Latif over a K8 billion tax evasion scam. He was also accused by the tax collection body in 2015 of owing K4 billion in unpaid taxes. While investigations were into various tax evasion cases were underway, computers for MRA’s auditing department were stolen by thugs at the Authority’s headquarters in Blantyre.
It is alleged that Faizal supports politicians and political parties and that is why cases of tax evasion against him are yield nothing.
