Staff from the EIB’s Inspectorate General have assisted the Malawi Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on an ACB investigation into allegations of corrupt payments in the award of a contract issued by the Lilongwe Water Board (LWB). The contract allegedly affected by these allegations was financed from the national budget along with a loan from the European Investment Bank. Two people have been arrested as part of this operation and computer equipment has been seized from several individuals.

Deputy Director of the ACB, Mr. Reyneck Matemba commented on the operation by stating:

“This is a good example of effective collaboration between the ACB and international partners in the joint fight against corruption. The European Investment Bank has a zero tolerance towards fraud and corruption and in this case it quickly consulted with the ACB on concerns that had been raised with its Fraud Investigations Division. The issues raised by EIB corroborated information that the ACB had already been working on, which led to this large-scale operation involving around 10 staff from the ACB, supported by investigators from the Fraud Investigations Division of the EIB. Investigators from both organisations are working together to gather all relevant evidence, which will form the basis of a detailed ACB investigation to determine the facts”.