TASILA PROTESTS: ‘it’s not me’
TASILA Lungu has rubbished reports that she is being investigated for purchasing a bank and assets worth K300 million.
Ms Lungu said she was not aware of any investigations by any agency against her and that she had no capacity to purchase such property.
She said had instructed her lawyers to commence legal proceedings against the people behind the misinformation.
“I wish to state as follows, I have not purchased any bank nor its assets, neither do I have the capacity to do so,” Ms Lungu said.
Yesterday ACC announced that it was investigating a former ward councilor of Lusaka for the suspicious purchase of a named bank together with all of the bank’s assets worth K300 million.
According to Daily Nation investigations, this story arises from a previous story published by a UPND related online blog suggesting that Ms Lungu had bought the Access Bank building along Cairo Road in Lusaka at US$3.5 million cash.
The report claims that Ms Lungu, the daughter of former President Edgar Lungu also bought US$2.5 million shares previously owned by Captain Austin Chewe in Access Bank which had been pegged at US$1 per share translating into US$2.5 million for the shares.
The transaction they claimed was worth US$6 million.
However investigations have revealed that at the time, Access Bank had signed an agreement to merge with Cavmont Bank.
The transaction provided a complementary transaction that combined Access Bank Zambia’s wholesale and trade finance capabilities with Cavmont Bank’s retail and commercial banking operations.
Access Bank Zambia and Cavmont Bank customers were expected to benefit from greater security offered by one of the most capitalised banks in the country, a more sophisticated product and service offering and a broader geographical network.
Following the legal merger of the two banks, the enlarged entity was to be a majority owned subsidiary of Access Bank Plc.
The transaction was concluded and conducted through normal financial formalities.