Arrest of Abubooker owner of Riverside Hotel in ‘landgate’ opens Pandora’s Box

The arrest of Malawian of Asian origin Ahmed Abubooker Istiaq of Riverside Hotel in Salima in relation to landgate scandal where a syndicate has been busted for illegal acquiring of land has opened a Pandora’s box.

Abubooker Istiaq was arrested together with  three senior officers from the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development on allegations that they were forging signatures and produce lease documents.

Others arrested are Flemings Chifombo, Diverson Mlozi and Rose Ajasi .

Now the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) wants to move in on charges bordering money laundering, theft and conspiracy to defeat the course of justice.

ACB are digging deeper on information that he was using Rizwan Aboobaker in Liecester, United Kingdom as a channel of money laundering.

The law enforcers have stumbled on information relating to a company known Sunrise Investments in Licester UK whose owner was Makbool Abdul Gaffar Latif.

They are also investigating Excomp Limited in relation to financial crimes.

AbooBaker’s company has a wealth of £1.2 million from Malawi but with undeclared tax.

Recently, Police arrested Mustag Mahomed, Chifuniro Simumbe and lawyer Umahu Mataka on the same syndicate while Alex Mawaya was still on the run.

The syndicate has been discovered after President Peter Mutharika had directed the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development to attend to a lot of complaints on double land allocations and issuing of illegal certificates and deeds, according to Principal Secretary in the ministry of land Joseph Mwandidya.

Also on the radar of the law enforcing agencies are two Asian businessmen Mustak Chothia and Suleman Ismail on allegations of corruption and  “severe tax evasion”, Nyasa Times understands.

Investigators t could not be drawn into specifics   which are operational in nature for fear of jeopardising the investigations.