THE London High Court judgement has finally been served on former President Frederick Chiluba with a court injunction freezing his pension account and two properties in Ndola.
But Dr Chiluba has said that he would contest the London judgement during its registration in the Zambian High Court.
Ministry of Justice officials delivered Judge Peter Smith’s judgement together with the freezing order on Monday at Dr Chiluba’s Kabulonga home.
This is in a civil case in which the former head of State and others were found liable of defrauding the Zambian government of about US$46 million.
This was in an action in which the Zambian Attorney-General commenced civil proceedings in the London High Court against Dr Chiluba and 19 others to recover funds that were allegedly stolen using bank accounts based in London.
The specific claim against Dr Chiluba was about US$2 million.
Judge Smith’s freezing order is against seven defendants who include fugitive former Zambia Security Intelligence Services (ZSIC) director-general, Xavier Chungu, fugitive former Zambia High Commissioner to the United States, Atan Shansonga, former minister of Finance permanent secretary, Stella Chibanda, and Lusaka businessman, Faustin Kabwe.
Others are Nebraska Services Limited and Congolese businessman based in Belgium, Raphael Soriano, also known as Katebe Katoto.
Judge Smith’s freezing order prohibits Dr Chiluba to access his pension account at Barclays Bank’s Longacres branch in Lusaka, his properties in Ndola at 5 Kanono Road and another property at 20 Kabinga Road, until further order of the court.
Part of Judge Smith freezing order reads; “If you Dr Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba, Mr Xavier Franklin Chungu, Mr Atan Shansonga, Ms Stella Mumba Chibanda, Mr Kabwe, Nebraska Services Limited or Mr Raphael Soriano, disobey this order you may be held in contempt of court and be liable to imprisonment or fine or to have your assets seized.
“Any other person who knows of this order and does anything which helps or permits the respondent to breach the terms of this order may also be held to be in contempt of court and may be imprisoned, fined or have their assets seized”.
Judge Smith following an application by the Zambian government granted the freezing injunction on May 4.
The order was made at a hearing without notice to the defendants although they have a right to apply to court to vary or discharge the order.
Judge Smith warned that the defendants should not in any way dispose of, deal with or diminish the value of any of their assets whether they are in or outside England and Wales.
Dr Chiluba, Mr Chungu, Ms Chibanda and Mr Kabwe have each got frozen assets in the sum of US$25 million.
On Mr Shansonga, the order attaches assets valued at US$2,220,000, Mr Soriano’s at US$20,500,000 while Nebraska Services Limited’s assets are valued at US$72,000.
Judge Smith stated that for the purpose of this order, the respondents’ assets included any he had power, directly or indirectly, to dispose of or deal with as if it were his own.
The assets seized from the other six defendants range from bank accounts, farms, residential houses, companies and shares in some companies.
The order also provides that the defendants should within three days of service and to the best of their ability inform the Attorney-General’s solicitors of their assets world-wide exceeding US$5,000 in value whether in their name or not.
Judge Smith ordered that if the provision of such information was likely to incriminate the respondent, they might be entitled to refuse to provide it through legal advice in that wrongful refusal was contempt of court, which may render such people liable to be imprisoned, fined or have their assets seized.
He also said within seven days of service of the order, the respondents should swear and serve the Attorney-General’s lawyers an affidavit setting out the information on their assets world-wide.
Dr Chiluba’s spokesperson, Emmanuel Mwamba, said the former President would seek that the judgement together with the order be set aside during registration in the High Court.
Mr Mwamba said Dr Chiluba had noted that the judgement had come with other orders that sought to freeze his pension account and two of his houses in Ndola.
He said once the Attorney-General puts in motion the registration of the judgement in the High Court, he would seek that the entire ruling together with the order be set aside.
Mr Mwamba complained that the judgement was “dropped†at Dr Chiluba’s residence gate on Monday at about 16:30 hours by officials from the Ministry of Justice.
“They dropped what appeared to be normal mail but later it was discovered that it is the London High Court judgement.
“We wish to express our worry at the manner of the service of the documents because they were not given to Dr Chiluba, his representatives or agents but just left at the gate with the guard,” he said.
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