Court in Lilongwe adjourns money laundering case

The Lilongwe Senior Resident Magistrate (SRM) court has adjourned a money laundering case involving a Sri-Lankan, Kankanige Anvra Piyaratana Avis (62), and three Chinese nationals namely; Lin Huixin (25), Li Hao Yuan (33) and Hua Qin Zhang (46).

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Speaking on Tuesday in court Pililani Masanjala who represented the state said that the accused were charged of doing acts in Lilongwe that were contrary to section 42 (1)(b) of the Financial Crimes Act.

 “Li Hao Yuan and Hua Qin Zhang between September 1, 2017 and November 26, 2020 were found in Lilongwe depositing and transacting money amounting to K200 million through account number 9100000342170 of Moni International Limited domiciled at Standard Bank Malawi.

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“In addition to that; Li Hao Yuan, Hua Qin Zhang, and Kankanige Anura Piyaratuna Alwis between December 5, 2017, and January 2021 at Marina Casino in Lilongwe city converted K128, 590, 518.00 into gambling chips,” said Masanjala.

He further said that the third Chinese national, Lin Huixin was charged with exchanging foreign currency amounting to US 310, 000 dollars with a Sri Lankan, Kankanige Anura Piyaratuna Alwis without permission from the Ministry of Finance.

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On their part before the court, the three Chinese nationals pleaded guilty to their charges while a Sri Lankan pleaded not guilty to his charge.

The Senior Resident Magistrate, Madalitso Khoswe Chimwaza adjourned the case involving a Sri Lankan to March 1, 2023, to pave way for the state to parade its witnesses regarding the case.

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She also adjoined the case involving three Chinese nationals to March 2, 2023, for sentencing submissions.

In his comment, one of the defense lawyers, Chrispine Ndalama said that as the defense they were pleased with the decision that the Senior Resident Magistrate made.