LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Unconfirmed reports reaching this publication show that former Finance Minister Simplex Chithyola Banda is currently on the run after the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) reportedly moved in to arrest him on Thursday.
According inside sources reveal that ACB launched a manhunt after officers failed to locate him at his known residence in Lilongwe, where he is believed to have disappeared shortly before investigators arrived to execute a newly issued warrant of arrest.
The warrant, issued by the Lilongwe Chief Resident Magistrate Court, relates to allegations of misuse of public office under Section 25B(1) read together with Section 34 of the Corrupt Practices Act.
The warrant alleges that on or around 15 July 2025, while serving as Minister of Finance, Chithyola approved MK29.4 billion in extra-budgetary funding for the Mega Farms Project, which reportedly benefited the Greenbelt Authority without lawful justification.
However, ACB officials are said to be treating the matter as urgent, with ongoing efforts to track down the former minister whose whereabouts remain unknown at the time of publication.
The latest development comes only weeks after Chithyola was previously arrested in a separate corruption-related case involving alleged abuse of office and money laundering linked to the Eastbridge fertiliser deal.
In that matter, investigators allege he authorised payments under a fertiliser-for-commodities arrangement involving East Bridge Romania Co. Ltd and the Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund of Malawi (SFFRFM), a transaction prosecutors claim led to losses of about K25 billion after fertiliser was not delivered.
He had earlier surrendered himself to Fiscal Police at Area 6 in Lilongwe following a separate warrant issued by the Mkukula Magistrate Court.
Chithyola, the opposition leader in Malawi Parliament was later granted bail after spending two nights in custody.
Authorities say the latest case adds to a growing list of corruption-related investigations targeting former senior officials, as the ACB intensifies its ongoing crackdown on alleged financial misconduct within past government transactions.
Efforts to obtain official confirmation from the ACB were still ongoing at the time of publication.
Leave a Reply