Zambia Arrests Liquidator For Embezzling $9 Million In Indian Copper Firm Saga
Lusaka, Zambia: Zambian authorities said Wednesday they have
arrested the liquidator of a major copper firm for embezzling $9 million, the
latest twist in the African nation's feud with India's Vedanta Resources.
Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), co-owned by London-listed
Vedanta and Zambia's state mining arm, is one of Africa's largest copper
producers.
KCM has been caught in a two-year tug-of-war between Vedanta
and Zambia, which in 2019 placed KCM in liquidation for allegedly failing to
pay taxes.
The liquidator, Milingo Lungu, 43, was arrested on charges
that he abused his role to cash in on $2.2 million.
The Drug Enforcement Commission, which investigates money
laundering, also accused Lungu of pocketing another $6.8 million, mostly in
local currency.
"He has also been charged for money laundering for the
said amounts," spokesman Mathias Kamanga said in a statement. "The
money is said to have come into his possession by virtue of being the
provisional liquidator for Konkola Copper Mines Plc."
Lungu has since been released on police bond and will appear
in court soon, it added.
In a statement, Lungu dismissed the allegations as
"baseless and untrue".
Zambia's former government handed KCM over for liquidation
in May 2019, sparking a legal dispute with Vedanta, the majority shareholder.
President Hakainde Hichilema, elected in August, has
criticised his predecessor's nationalist mining policy and vowed to woo foreign
investors back to Africa's second-largest copper producer after the Democratic
Republic of Congo.
Shortly after Hichilema took office, Vedanta said it was
open to dialogue with the state and committed to re-investing $1.5 billion into
KCM.
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