MP wants probe on Paladin’s proceeds in offshore account
Member of Parliament for Dedza Central East (MCP) Mc Steyen Mkomba has asked government to investigate some of the proceeds from Kayerekera uranium mine deposited to an offshore account .
Paladin Energy mines uranium at Kayerekera in Karonga district, the north of Malawi.
Reserve Bank of Malawi asked the uranium miner to be a co-signatory to the offshore account as a move to improve levels of accountability.
“I would like to ask the President to put in place other inquiries that would look into economic factors, like who benefits from the Rubies and Suppliers,” said Mkomba in parliament
“Who benefits from the minerals from Chimbwatulo Rubies and Suppliers, and also rumours that some of the proceeds from Kayerekera mine are being deposited in an offshore account in Australia,” he told the House.
Paladin, based in Perth, is the biggest investor in the southern African nation’s mining industry, spending $500 million since 2009, when its Kayelekera uranium mine became fully operational.
Malawi government holds a 15 percent stake in Paladin Africa, the unit through which the Malawian assets are held.
Paladin Africa received the central bank’s request to be a signatory to its offshore account in November 2010 and provided it with the documents to enable this, according to International Affairs General Manager Greg Walker.
The miner has been sending a report to the Reserve Bank on the operations of Kayelekera in the spirit of transparency.
