Malawi’s Vice-President Saulos Chilima has been arrested by the country’s anti-corruption agency on allegation of accepting money in exchange for awarding government contracts.
He is accused of receiving $280,000 (£230,000) from a British- Malawian businessman “and other items”.
The president’s deputy — who has been stripped of his powers — has been charged with several counts of corruption and taking bribes to influence government contracts, the Anti-Corruption Bureau said.
The British businessman, Zuneth Sattar, is under arrest in the UK where he is accused of using connections with senior Malawi government officials and politicians to fraudulently obtain contracts to supply goods and services.
Mr Sattar has denied all wrong doing.
“He received advantage in the form of money amounting to $280,000 and other items from (British-Malawian businessman) Zuneth Sattar,” for the latter’s companies to be awarded Malawi government contracts, ACB spokeswoman Egrita Mdala said in a statement.
The vice president would be taken to court where he is expected to be charged with three counts of corrupt practices by a public officer, among other charges, the corruption watchdog added.
President Lazarus Chakwera stripped Chilima of his powers in June when details of the alleged graft first emerged.
According to Malawi’s constitution, the president could not suspend or remove Chilima because he was an elected official.
Several ministers and former ministers have already been arrested in connection with the case, in which 53 public officials have been accused of receiving money from Sattar between March and October 2021.
Chilima partnered with Chakwera to win the 2020 presidential election re-run, sweeping to victory on an anti-corruption platform.
He had also joined Chakwera in challenging fraudulent elections in 2019, which led to a court-sanctioned poll the following year in which Chakwera defeated former leader Peter Mutharika.
