Businessperson Mainala Reuben Mwale has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for stealing K20 million from the Government.
The Magistrate’s Court in Lilongwe handed out the sentence to Mwale on March 16, weeks after Mwale had been found guilty of theft contrary to Section 278 as read with Section 271 of the Penal Code and money laundering contrary to Section 42(1) (c) of the Financial Crimes Act.
The court sentenced the convict to eight (8) years and three (3) years imprisonment with hard labour for money laundering and theft respectively. The sentences will run concurrently.
Mwale trading Vhaima General Dealers committed the offences when he acquired the sum of MK20, 383,276.60 from Malawi Government through the Ministry of Tourism.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau which prosecuted the case said Mwale knew that the said money had been stolen from government coffers.
Over K2.4 billion was stolen from government coffers this way, where businesspersons and civil servants connived to steal the public funds. The massive theft of public funds which was uncovered in 2013 is known as cashgate.
High profile Cashgate suspects include former Ministry of Finance budget director Paul Mphwiyo, former accountant general David Kandoje and Maxwell Namata.
Nangano mwini Cashgate Yo ndiye atengedwa liti pakuti zinali zokambilana ndi Joyce Banda.