The provisional liquidator of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), Milingo Lungu has called the money laundering charges against him as baseless.
Mr Lungu was yesterday arrested and charged with laundering more than $2 million by the Drug Enforcement Commission.
“The money is said to have come into his possession by virtue of being the Provisional Liquidator for Konkola Copper Mines Plc,” the Drug Enforcement Commission, which handles such cases, said.
Mr Lungu called the allegations leveled by the commission “baseless and untrue” in a statement issued by KCM’s corporate affairs department later on Wednesday.
“I welcome the opportunity to clear my name in Court,” Mr Lungu said in the statement.
“This will be done following due process and not in the Court of public opinion.”
The commission alleged that Mr Lungu, acting with others, “did engage in theft” involving 110.4 million Zambian kwachas and $250,000 between May 22, 2019 and Aug. 15, 2021, and “obtained money by false pretenses” amounting to $2.2 million.
“He has also been charged for money laundering for the said amounts,” the commission said.
Mr. Lungu has been released on police bond and will appear in court soon, the commission said.
According to DEC, Further, after the Commission concluded investigations in some of the matters pertaining to the case at Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) Plc it decided to charge and arreste Mr Milimo Lungu, a male aged 43 of Plot 22763, Mulungushi Road in Roma, Lusaka for obtaining money by false pretenses contrary to section 308 as read with section 309 of the Penal Code Act, Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia, Theft contrary to section 280 of the Penal Code Act, Chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia, and money laundering contrary to section 7 of the Prohibition and Prevention of Money Laundering Act No 14 of 2001 as read with the Amendment Act No. 44 of 2010.
Allegations are that Mr Milingo Lungu, jointly and whilst acting together with other persons unknown, on dates unknown but between 22nd May 2019 and 15th August 2021 did engage in theft involving K110.4m and US$250,000.00.
It is further alleged that he obtained money by false pretenses amounting to US$2,200,000.00. He has also been charged for money laundering for the said amounts.
The money is said to have come into his possession by virtue of being the Provisional Liquidator for Konkola Copper Mines Plc.
We’ll wait and see, however, such cases have caused us embarrassment before. MCS was arrested on a charge of stealing a Hyundai Sonata car. That case didn’t go far. Faustine Kabwe hasn’t recovered from the LPM brutality. We have gone back to the dark days of SITET. It’s about time we put things in order. DEC and ACC can’t justify why they should continue to exist. They’re just a nuisance.
EVERY CRIMINAL PLEADS HIS INNOCENCE ITS ONLY NATURAL
LETS WAIT AND SEE
Hope he gets convicted and is not just an excuse of handing the mine back to Vedanta. Hopefully.
I won’t be surprised if he is acquitted. Edgar Lungu presided over a Government of sophisticated mafias. It is very possible that they covered their tracks very well, for him to say the accusations are ‘baseless’
It is a strategy to do that. Remember, your party in opposition then, declared that there were no quaLIFIED zAMBIANS WHO COULD RUN THE MINES AND DECLARED THAT THEY WILL HAND IT OVER TO VEDANTA However, lets wait and see after 90days from 24th August, 2021.
We need to clean up the judicial system as well. Such elements cannot have such confidence even when its clear their activities are highly questionable. Chances are he might have people in the judicial system to help him.
Can we not just whack such individuals?
This could save us a lot of court time.
He can even make statements when he is on Police bond…if it was under Lazy Lungu’s oppressive regime he would have been locked today and out on Tuesday next week. I hope they have a tight case and he wont claim that he was paying himself his own fees….there is more to this story as to where all this money was going to. More need to be brought in, was it going to PF coffers?
Our investigative wings! When are they going to report about the gold been stolen from this country! In millions of dollars. If one steals K 15 and the other one steals K37,000 of course the one who has stolen K37,000 will be the first target because of the figure…Here in Zambia gold is been stolen and nothing done …I still understand how Zambians are so quick to arrest their own but when it coming to foreigners they are cowards no wonder foreigners keep on have field days year in year out. It makes no sense you arrest the guy of K15..and leave the guy of K 37,000..May God deliver us from foolis.hness
In properly functioning state like it was in UNIP days investigations would have been carried out there and then. Suspect suspended whilst investigations were going on. Fired if found guilty. Now we to wait for change of government to carry out investigations. Arrest someone who is still in the job. And suspect issues statement through KCM under liquidation! Basically the suspect is operating from within the government system. My foot! The whole system need a extremely thorough overhaul. It is rotten!
This government in nappies is playing catch and release. You can not just go around arresting everyone with money. If they are genuine at arresting everyone with money, they should start with HH.
The judicial system is terribly flawed due to the epoch of flawed governance in one ECL. Why should criminals have so much confidence in their wrong doings. We all know that its also questinnable to keep running a company that is in liquidation. This criminal has milions in this hiding places and he knows no judge can deny the corruption that he has already given to them. All judges have been corrupted big time and he knows no judge will say no to huge corruption money already given to them.
The system must be cleaned and white washed otherwise no case will be won by the government. Just listen to the confidence being exhibited here. He knows a lot and he knows this case is going nowhere and yet we all know that this guy belongs to the cage in prison. Ask me Imbwili has has been…
Stealing – Definition : getting something that does not belong to you without the consent of the owner secretly or violently.
The case which UPND should be advancing is how this man was appointed as liquidator not classifying his liquidators fees as money gotten by false pretence. Does UPND really mean business about corruption fight. This is a lost case already. Just like the case of Faith Musonda: Police say money came from BOZ, wing say money came from Zanaco, she says money came from emerald retail. Now everyone is quiet after she engaged lawyers. Who is fooling who on these corruption cases? HH said witch hunt ended with UPND victory. It appears that’s when serious witch hunt has started. Finti, Finti, Finti!
#9 Bashi Chite , just sit down. Which systems functioned properly under UNIP? Don’t annoy us. Can a normal person call those detentions without trial as properly functioning State? We were being investigated and accounts frozen indefinitely for just buying a colour TV from Zimbabwe!
Bring Sharia law and see if people will steal.
This man cannot have guts to handle this
Kind of money.There is a big fish behind this
Hook.same Applies to that lady.All these people with money are not actual owners.
KCM was a PF campain cash cow………
This was illegal, someone has to pay………
IMHO, the buck stops at ECL……….
Ndipo a kapokola aliko serious with reading Caps and Acts it is scary. Uyo azakambila kusogolo anso!
Milingo will go in, best believe that. Technocrats have their names all over paperwork unlike politicians. I don’t see it going any other way.
@ Ayatollah:”Mr Lungu called the allegations leveled by the commission “baseless and untrue” in a statement issued by KCM’s corporate affairs department later on Wednesday.” Issued by KCM corporate affairs as govt appointed liquidator!!!! Not in his personal capacity! If you are celebrating the impunity and indiscipline conveyed by the statement above, I am lost for words. Have you been to Chingola and Konkola and seen the despair among the folks their. The flicker of hope that they placed on the new government! As for UNIP, we were under a state of emergency so it was legal to keep someone in detention without trial. Not fair but that was the law. It only FTJ’s MMD that lifted the SOE. Colour televisions appeared on the scene in the early 80s. A lot of people who had gone to study or…
His name is Lungu. Enough said.
One wonders where he is drawing his confidence from. With those huge sums of money, has he oiled the judges to run his smoothly? He is rubbishing everything instead of keeping quiet. No one is above the law, if former president Edger Lungu is backing him, both should face the music.
No comment until the courts say Guilty or Not Guilty
@Bashi Chite, Chingola was desolate even before Vedanta was kicked out. Vedanta stopped mining and started to process ore from DRC. Is it Milingo Lungu that caused that? Get your facts before you comment. If you had a bank account you’d know how notorious SITET was. Was it right for KK to detain people without trial? Some of us even lost our relatives under questionable circumstances. Time will vindicate us, DEC is just playing the same old games. We’ll wait and see but I know that it’s not getting anywhere
I completely agree with Ayatollah. The law does not allow you to declare one guilty before trial. Being accused is one thing and being convicted is another. We have been on this route before and nothing of substance came out except making some lawyers very rich.
I would not be surprised if upnd is not just whipping up public opinion to justify handing back KCM to Vedanta. Let’s wait and see.