17 Malawi names on Swiss Leaks

Secret documents leaked from HSBC’s Swiss private bank revealed the names of 17 Malawians of Asian origins, who are among international clients whose names are featuring in a trove of secret bank files that reveal how HSBC’s Swiss banking arm helped individuals stash billions of dollars in the country.

The Malawian names and companies have been named in the   Swiss Leaks as having illicity maintained bank accounts in the amounting to $16.1 million (about K7.5 billion for the year 2006-07.

However, none of the people mentioned holds a Malawian passport or is a Malawian national but are indicated to have a place of birth to be Malawi.

They include Ali Mahommed Shabir Majid,  Ali Mahommed Afzal Majid, Karia Ramilla and Jussab Sattar Sikander Abud.

The expose by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) followed the stealing of HSBC client data by Herve Falciani, a former IT employee of HSBC’s Swiss private bank.

HSBC said Falciani downloaded details of accounts and clients at the end of 2006 and early 2007. French authorities have obtained data on thousands of the customers and shared them with tax authorities elsewhere.

Malawi has received a notable mention because of how much the money in the accounts could have contributed to the country’s gross domestic product per capita ,which stood at $266 in 2007.