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Stanbic Bank has frozen the accounts of Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) and UDF deputy Secretary General Paul Maulidi after garnishee proceedings to force them to pay money to their creditors.
A memorandum from Stanbic Bank Company Secretary/ Legal Counsel and Compliance manager David Bandawe dated July 22, 2004 to all its branches, instructs the branches where the accounts are held to freeze K789,208.52 ($7,307) from the MRA account and K275,295.40 from Maulidi’s account before August 3, 2004.
A search of the cases at the High Court Registry indicates that Maulidi owes Eagle Insurance Brokers Limited, owned by fellow UDF member and cabinet minister Henry Mussa, K275,295.40 after the company rendered its services to Maulidi.
“[Maulidi] has failed to pay the said sum of K275,295.40 despite [Eagle Insurance’s] request to do so and the sum remains outstanding,” reads part of the statement of claim of the case.
Eagle Insurance Brokers Limited went to court to apply for a garnishee order to force Maulidi pay back the money through their lawyers Lawson & Company.
Toyota Malawi is claiming back money it paid MRA as duty of two vehicles that were ordered for Toyota Malawi customers.
An affidavit of lawyer Chifundo Ngwira representing Toyota Malawi in the case says on August 14,2003, Toyota Malawi issued two cheques to MRA for the two motor vehicles and were endorsed ‘not negotiable’ and were duly deposited by MRA.
“When [Toyota Malawi] processed the documents for the release of the two motor vehicles, they were informed that the duty which they paid did not go into the applicant’s account but in another person’s account, unknown and unconnected to the applicants,” reads Ngwira’s affidavit.
Ngwira said in the affidavit his clients were surprised since the cheques were presented by MRA and were cleared as payment of duty of the motor vehicles and in the end MRA issued notices of seizure of the motor vehicles pending proper clearance.
According to court documents, MRA ordered Toyota Malawi to pay a fine of K200,000 and full duty of the motor vehicles.
“Since the motor vehicles were for important customers of the applicants and that the motor vehicles were needed urgently, the applicant paid duty for the second time and also a fine of K200,000,” reads Ngwira’s affidavit.
High Court Judge Justice Jane Ansah on December 8, 2003 quashed the decision of MRA to seize the motor vehicles and ordered that the money paid in respect of the second duty be refunded together with a fine of K200,000.
Another affidavit by Ralph Kasambara from Lawson & Company in support of an application for a garnishee order indicates that up to now the sum of K789,208.52 as ordered by the High Court in December 2003 still remains unpaid.
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