Inspector General (IG) of the Malawi Police Service (MPS) George Kainja says he has instructed Fiscal Police to investigate Thom Frank Mpinganjira Trust (TFMT) over the way it lent money to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Kainja has told the local media that he has made the directive after receiving a letter from Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Steve Kayuni.
Mpinganjira was last week sentenced to nine years in prison for attempting to bribe judges who presided over the 2019 elections case. The businessperson wanted the judges to rule in favour of the DPP.
During trial for the case, Mpinganjira in his testimony told the court that he lent the DPP over K900 million through his TFM Trust.
After she found Mpinganjira guilty last month, High Court Judge Dorothy DeGabrielle said TFM Trust is not a legally registered lending institution in the country hence authorities should investigate the transactions between DPP and the Trust.
In a letter to Malawi Police dated October 8, 2021, Kayuni said criminal investigations against TFM Trust and its trustees should centre around illegal money lending, in relation to money lending laws as stipulated in the Financial Crimes Act and political party funding laws.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) has said its board discussed Mpinganjira’s conviction at a meeting.
Reserve Bank Governor Wilson Banda said in an interview with the local media that Financial Market law prohibits a convict from owning a bank.
Mpinganjira is a major shareholder of FDH Bank.
