UK-based businessman Zuneth Sattar, who is at the centre of a major corruption scandal involving senior officials in the Malawi Government, was on Friday granted bail amounting to £2 million (about K4.8 billion) by Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
Sattar, who appeared in court virtually but did not take a plea during the session, faces 18 corruption-related charges alongside his company, Xavier Limited, which is accused of supplying goods and services to Malawi’s government at inflated prices.
The court has scheduled the next hearing for June 26, 2025. At that session, the case is expected to be transferred to the Crown Court, the UK’s primary criminal court for serious offences.
Details from the charge sheet indicate that Sattar is alleged to have bribed several high-profile Malawian officials, including the late Vice-President Saulos Chilima, State House Chief of Staff Prince Kapondamgaga, former Anti-Corruption Bureau Director General Reyneck Matemba, and former Inspector General of Police George Kainja.
Also implicated are former Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets (PPDA) Board Chairperson John Suzi Banda, Malawi Police Service Director of Legal Services Mwabi Kalua, and Malawi Defence Force’s Chief of Legal Services and Judge Advocate General, Dan Kuwali. The charge sheet also references an additional unnamed public official.
The case, which stems from joint investigations in both the UK and Malawi, continues to draw widespread attention due to the scale of the alleged bribery network and the seniority of the officials involved.
