Court sets date for judgement in Lubinda’s corruption case

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Court has set April 18, as a day it will render its judgement in a matter Patriotic Front (PF) vice president, Given Lubinda is facing four counts of possession of property suspected of being proceeds of crime.

This was after Lubinda’s lawyer, Mr Makebi Zulu of Makebi Zulu Advocates informed outgoing Senior Resident Magistrate, Sanford Ngobola that they had closed their defence and asked for 21 days to make their submissions.

In this matter, Lubinda, pleaded not guilty to four counts of possession of property suspected to be proceeds of crime contrary to section 71 (1) of the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act No. 19 of 2010, of the Laws of Zambia.

On September 12, 2023, Mr Ngobola found Lubinda with a case and placed him on defence.

In his defencse, Lubinda said all his money came from a legitimate source as he had entered into an agreement with his friend’s company Qingdao Ruichang Cotton Company.

He said the US$100, 000 which was quoted in the first count which was deposited into his bank account from Qingdao Ruichang Cotton Industrial Company was not a proceed of crime.

Lubinda had told the court that in March 2018, his company, Highview Investment Limited entered into a loan agreement with Qingdao Ruichang Cotton Company but the company was not conducting any business using foreign currency so the money was deposited into his dollar account at ABSA Bank Longacres branch in Lusaka.

He testified that upon the agreement, the Chinese company remitted US$50, 000 in March, 2018 and in February 2019 an amount of US$100, 000 was sent to his account.

Lubinda explained that the money found itself in his dollar account because his company by then never had a foreign currency account.

And a lawyer, Mr. Philip Kafusha Chibundi, 48, of Mosha and Company, a defence witness, told the court that he was a local counsel for Qingdao Ruichang Cotton Company in Zambia and in 2016 the local country representative requested him to draft a loan agreement for a loan facility of $300, 000 to Highview Investments Limited.

“It was secured by an equitable mortgage a certificate of title. We drafted the agreement and I handed over to the local parties to execute. A year and half later we received the certificate of title on behalf of the lender. In early 2022, we had to hand back the title deed which was when the loan facility was paid. The parties to the agreement were Qingdao Ruichang as the lender and Highview Limited as the borrower.