A British judge on Friday ordered former Zambian President Frederick Chiluba and 19 others to pay back $46-million they stole from the Southern African country’s Treasury.
Judge Peter Smith, speaking live via satellite link from London, said he ordered that Chiluba and his associates must pay 85% of the stolen funds to Zambian authorities within 14 days.
Details on the amount Chiluba would have to pay back would emerge in the next few days.
Officials say Chiluba and his allies were sued in a London court because they own properties purchased using stolen public funds in Britain, Belgium and other European nations, an accusation Chiluba denies.
The ruling backed President Levy Mwanawasa’s government, which filed charges in a British court that Chiluba and his associates stole the money during his years in power from 1991 to 2001.
Zambian prosecutors told Reuters during a live court hearing via satellite from London that the amount Chiluba and co-accused would finally be required to pay would rise after an assessment of damages and interest.
Chiluba, who handed-picked Mwanawasa to succeed him prior to the 2001 presidential elections, has denied any wrongdoing and accuses Mwanawasa of political persecution.
Chiluba’s spokesperson, Emmanuel Mwamba, told journalists ahead of the judgement the former president would not recognise the ruling because the London judge had no jurisdiction over Zambian legal matters. — Reuters