…Tambulasi’s frozen Money Suspected as ‘Proceeds of Crime’, says Malawi Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA)
The Financial Division of the High Court has issued an order freezing nearly K2.2 billion Malawi Kwacha belonging to renowned lawyer and accomplished business mogul, Felix Tambulasi, in accordance with the Financial Crimes Act.
This order places Tambulasi in legal jeopardy as he is listed as the fourth defendant together with his client, William Bilderberg, whose real name is Willem Willie Steenkamp.
Bilderberg was recently exposed by the Platform for Investigative Journalism (PIJ Malawi) as a ‘notorious South African fugitive’ sought for fraud.
He promised to invest $20 million (approximately K22 billion) in Malawi. PIJ Malawi reports that Steenkamp is alleged to be the notorious South African fugitive facing fraud and money laundering charges.
In the Rainbow Nation, Steenkamp is accused of running a Ponzi Scheme. Together with Jacobus Johannes Christoffel Du Toit, aged 51, Steenkamp, aged 50, ran Wurban Bank Group and Wurban Sovereign Trust through which they took money from investors after promising massive returns before he disappeared into thin air.
Surprisingly, court documents revealed that the Malawian President, Lazarus Chakwera, through his Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), permitted William Bilderberg to settle in Malawi after posing as an investor. Despite being on the Interpol radar, Malawi issued him with passport (number MWA097282) soon after his arrival.
“[He] was welcomed to the country by the Malawi Government in October 2022 through the Office of the President and Cabinet to invest in Malawi. Bilderberg Limited was incorporated in Malawi on October 12, 2022,” PIJ reported.
The Chakwera administration issued Steenkamp, who was using the alias Dr. William Bilderberg, a Malawian passport, in spite of his Interpol status.
In August of this year, he raised suspicions when he wired $20 million from Forex Plus Australia to his account held at Ecobank Malawi. The Malawian bank, following an order from the Financial Intelligence Unit, froze the funds.
Luckily for him, as PIJ reports, on September 2, Bilderberg Limited and Dr. William Bilderberg, through lawyer Tambulasi, filed for an injunction with the High Court in Blantyre seeking an order to access the $20 million.
High Court Judge Kenan Manda granted the injunction, allowing Steenkamp to access ‘his’ money. However, the FIA ordered Ecobank to ignore the court order, as they had evidence suggesting that Bilderberg was the South African fugitive, Steenkamp, wanted on alleged charges of financial crimes.
The Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA), in this regard, advised Eco Bank to disregard the injunction that Bilderberg had obtained.
Bilderberg, through his lawyer, Felix Tambulasi, filed for a contempt of court.
But in turn of events, before the case could even kick-off, Bilderberg was arrested. Malawian detectives found Bilderberg with fake travel documents and IDs suspected to have been illegally obtained. The alleged fugitive faces forgery, uttering false documents, and money laundering charges together with Phambala.
And it never rained but poured for Bilderberg who before he could be granted bail, the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) obtained a new order freezing nearly 20 billion in accounts belonging to six people and companies alleged to be associated with him.
The new freezing order lists Tambulasi as the fourth defendant.
The Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) has informed Malawi24 the FIA obtained the freezing order so that the seven people and companies who include Tambulasi can “explain the circumstances surrounding [their] acquisition or possession of suspected proceeds of crime”.
In addition to Tambulasi and Bilderberg, other individuals and companies whose funds have also been frozen are Yolanda Steenkamp, Doris Phiri, Brian Magoya, Kashmira Investment, Chene Engelbrecht, Patience Flavour Maliwa, Peter Goodson Kawonga, and Mark Deryck Cromhout and Bilderberg’s company, Bilderberg Limited which is registered in Malawi.
The case has sent shockwaves through social media with the gigantic total sum of frozen funds, which nears K20 billion, almost the same amount which Bilderberg had wired from Australia that Eco-Bank had initially been ordered by the FIA to freeze.
When asked to explain the inclusion of Felix Tambulasi, the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) revealed that the funds have been frozen because they are suspected to be proceeds of a crime. The FIA could not confirm whether Tambulasi is being treated as a suspect.
“[FIA] targets the suspected proceeds of crime and the people cited [who include Tambulasi] in that court process are not suspects but defendants who are called upon to explain the circumstances surrounding the acquisition or possession of suspected proceeds of crime” Grace Thipa, the Public Relations Officer for FIA told Malawi24.
However, the Agency suggested that its investigations that has led to the Preservation Order are part of FIA’s “analysis and preliminary investigations following the money trail for purposes of feeding into criminal investigations” by the Malawi Police, legally mandated to undertake criminal investigation and are therefore in a position to comment on the criminal culpability of any person cited in the preservation order.
FIA stated that it could not offer additional information on the case due to concerns that doing so might jeopardize both the FIA’s operations and the ongoing case investigations. Neither could FIA confirm whether Tambulasi was being treated as a suspect together with his client, Bilderberg; insisting that the he Preservation Order obtained by FIA is “a civil process as opposed to a criminal process”.
“We cannot provide information on specific cases as that would not only compromise the FIA’s operations but also case investigations and international requirements on confidentiality as laid down by international standards for Financial Intelligence Units like the FIA”.
The order to include Tambulasi on the list of the defendants comes just days following Bilderberg’s arrest and the announcement by the Malawi Police that more suspects in the Bilderberg case were yet to be arrested.
From FIA’s explanation and with the Preservation Order, it logically follows that Tambulasi’s K2.2 billion is frozen due to being suspected to be “proceeds of crime.” Tambulasi, along with Bilderberg and five others, is now required by law to “explain the circumstances surrounding the acquisition or possession of suspected proceeds of crime” as the fourth defendant.
Tambulasi is a practicing lawyer for Robert Lexis Attorneys, based in Blantyre, where one of the renowned lawyers at the firm is Bob Chimkango.
Chief Resident Magistrate Chisomo Msokera is expected to make a ruling on Bilderberg’s bail application today (Monday, 30 October 2023). Meanwhile, Malawi has already informed Interpol about Bilderberg’s arrest and recent developments in the case.
