BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-Sentinel Exports, an Indian supplier, has sued Blantyre-based businessman Mahmood Azhar Chaudhry, originally from Pakistan but holding a Malawian citizenship, over unpaid dues amounting to more than US$1.6 million (about MK2.87 billion at current bank rate).
The case, filed through lawyer Kalekeni Kaphale before the High Court’s Commercial Division in Lilongwe, seeks payment of US$821,294.45 for assorted uniforms and items supplied to the Malawi Police Service under Chaudhry’s contract.
Court records show the goods were delivered between September and December 2020, and Chaudhry was paid in full by the Police Service, but he allegedly failed to remit the agreed amounts to Sentinel Exports.
The claim also includes US$585,150.68 in compound interest at 10 percent per annum, US$210,966.77 in statutory legal collection costs, and US$36,919.18 in value-added tax on those costs.
Despite repeated undertakings to respond, Chaudhry has yet to file a defence or comply with court instructions, including indicating whether he intends to contest the matter.
The Indian supplier, according to officials closer to the firm, may consider pushing for prosecution of Chaudhrey on criminal charges of obtaining goods by false pretence.
Chaudhry and his wife, Neelam Azhar Mahmood, also recently secured a temporary legal relief after the Limbe Magistrate Court granted a stay order suspending warrants of arrest issued against them by the Limbe Magistrate’s Court.
The stay order temporarily halts police action against the couple, who are facing a string of criminal allegations, including fraudulently obtaining Malawian citizenship, making false statements to public officers and misrepresenting diplomatic status.
Out of misrepresenting diplomatic status, private prosecutors have picked on him and are pursuing a charge of pejury, following a false statement he presented in court that he is a diplomat.
Meanwhile, private prosecutors pursuing the matter have formally petitioned the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to grant consent for the prosecution and join the proceedings, signalling their determination to press ahead with the case despite the temporary court relief.
The warrants, issued under Case No. 469, accuse Chaudhry of making false declarations to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services and the Ministry of Homeland Security between October 2001 and August 2004 to secure Malawian citizenship.
According to court documents, Chaudhry allegedly claimed he entered Malawi on August 20, 1994 to establish ordinary residence.
However, investigators contend immigration records show he first entered the country in April 1995 and only became lawfully resident in August 1998, raising questions over the legitimacy of his citizenship application.
Civil society organisations have also recently called for prosecution and deportation of the couple. They have also accused them of undermining the authorities in Malawi.
Chaudhry has also made several fraudulent land transfers into his family trust, bypassing necessary required steps.
Criminal charges Chaudhry is facing also include falsely presenting himself as a consular officer of the Republic of Pakistan between 2018 and 2022.
Prosecutors allege he misled the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Malawi Revenue Authority, the Road Traffic Directorate, the Malawi Police Service, the courts and other public institutions into believing he enjoyed diplomatic privileges and immunities.
His wife, Neelam Azhar Mahmood, separately faces allegations of falsely declaring herself a Malawian citizen during a land transfer transaction despite allegedly being a British national.
