Judge Mwaungulu to rule on Mulli assets value: Malawi Savings Bank saga

Supreme Court of Malawi judge Dunstan Mwaungulu will on July 9 2015 make a determination as regards the value of Mulli Brothers Limited (MBL) Holdings’ properties up for sale by the State-owned Malawi Savings Bank (MSB) to recover an outstanding loan of about K3.3 billion (US$7.3 million).

Chancy Gondwe, lawyer for MBL confirmed “the injunction is still in force” restraining MSB from selling the properties.

MSB evaluators found that the value of the properties was K4 billion while MBL Holdings evaluators pegged the properties at K6 billion.

Judiciary spokesperson Mlenga Mvula said Justice Mwaungulu will now resolve the matter of valuation of properties.

Mvula also said besides the evaluation reports, the judge will consider other issues the two parties advanced before the court.

“He [judge Mwaungulu ] will also consider other arguments the appellants and respondents presented to him before exercising his discretion whether to continue the injunction that was granted previously or vacate it,” said Mvula.

MSB has been pursuing Mulli who owes the bank a reported 83 percent of the bad debts and the local the conglomerat has since obtained an injunction stopping the bank from selling its properties which were used as collateral.

Government, the sole shareholder in MSB, has put the bank up for sale with only one preferred bidder FDH Bank of Thomson Mpinganjira.

The move to sale the bank is said to recapitalise it to meet regulatory requirements in terms of capital in line with Basel II but critics have interpreted it as a bail-out package for politically linked businesses.

Under pressure from opposition, civil society and the media, President Peter Mutharika ordered a suspension of the sale of MSB to allow more public debate on the issue.