LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-Malawi Police detective Ephraim Phiri on Thursday, May 5, 2022 told the Chief Resident Magistrate’s Court in Lilongwe that former Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA)Chief Executive Officer Collins Magalasi and businesswoman Dorothy Shonga are the joint owners of Vink Enterprise.
This is the company implicated in the MK186,539,425 Mera fraud case.
Phiri told the court that Shonga used a fake Turkish passport to open a Vink Enterprise account at CDH Bank.
According to Phiri, the passport had two different names, which was very unusual.He has told the court that at the top, the passport had a name Viecca Paul while at the bottom it had the name Paksul Murati.
Detective Phiri added that further investigations revealed that Magalasi used a passport with the names Collins Viecca Paul Magalasi when opening Vink Enterprise alongside Shonga.
Phiri said the police then concluded that when opening Vink Enterprise account at CDH Bank, Magalasi only used his middle names.
He added that although on paper the company appears to be owned by Shonga and one Viecca Paul, documents at the Registrar of Companies show that the firm is owned by Magalasi and Shonga with each partner having 50 percent shares.
Phiri has further told the court that when Shonga received a cheque from Mera being payment of cloth and long and short sleeve shirts, she took it to National Bank where she was given another bank certified cheque which she deposited at Vink Enterprise account at CDH.
On April 8 2020, she reportedly transferred MK30 million to her account at Standard Bank.On the same day, according to Phiri, she transferred K6 million to Collins Magalasi account.
On the same April 8, she is said to have withdrawn MK13 million and deposited MK11 million in Collins Magalasi account domiciled at National Bank.
The detective is the last State witness in the case in which Magalasi, during his time as Mera CEO, is suspected to have awarded a contract to Vink Enterprise.
