Pension funds shocker

Fri, 26 May 2017 20:52:03 +0000

By BENNIE MUNDANDO

IT IS an act of national betrayal that law enforcement agencies including police, DEC and ACC have failed to act on the diversion and transfer of K399, 472, 260 million retirees’ money from Zambia into an off-shore account by Saturnia.

The Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA) is believed to be complicit and party to the scams which it has failed to investigate.

Zambia Republican Party (ZRP) president Wright Musoma said information that  Saturnia opened an offshore account without the approval of the Ministry of Finance as provided for under SI 141 of 2011 and transferred K 399, 472, 260 in 2014 while a total of K 6, 219, 999 of investments were placed in 2015 was common knowledge.

According to the Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA) inspection report on Saturnia Regna Pension Fund, a company in which UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema has the largest shareholding, the company transferred pensioners’ money to an offshore account which was not approved by law.

The report indicates that Saturnia invested in the BIFM World Equity Fund which is an open fund that invests in global  equities and global equity-linked  securities incorporated in Luxemburg and another investment in Blackrock Global Income Fund, an open-ended fund incorporated in Luxemburg.

PIA found Saturnia wanting as it did not have a ministerial approval to invest in offshore investments and has not complied with the law and was directed to rectify the anomaly by October 30, 2016 but has not done so to-date.

Speaking to the Daily Nation yesterday, Mr Musoma said the illegalities that had characterised Saturnia

were bound to continue if drastic steps were not taken by government to arrest the situation as more pensioners under the fund were bound to lose as a result of the financial scandal which involved the diversion of their money to personal investments by trustees.

“There is need for Governmnet to immediately set up an inquiry to establish the circumstances under which the fund managed to transfer such colossal amounts of money into an offshore account and the consequent investment without the approval of the Zambian Government, failure to which more pensioners will lose out.

“Former BP employees have never received their benefits for over 20 years after losing their jobs and this revelation by PIA confirms where that money has gone and all this borders on lack of innocence by the fund and action must be taken against it. It is unfortunate that a company with 29,000 pensioners from 124 companies could be playing around with peoples’ lives in this way,” Mr. Musoma said.

He said his party had been vindicated by the PIA report because it warned Zambians to be wary and scrutinise those who were seeking public office by understanding their backgrounds.

“When we said people who sold our mines and left the country in abject poverty should not be given the chance to rule the country, some people thought we were just against them because we did not want them to rule this country but with this information, we have been vindicated.

“When the BP retirees pressed Saturnia to release their dues, Mr. Hichilema distanced himself from the company but the truth has now come out in the open because we now know exactly where their money went and if this matter will not treated with the seriousness it deserves, it will surely boomerang,” he warned.

Apart from funds illegally externalized to in Luxembourg, there are more Saturnia Pension Funds stuck in the United Kingdom, where authorities have raised serious concerns of money laundering.

Apparently although the funds were subscribed by Saturnia Fund the beneficiary was a different company called Surtinia Limited, a company registered without the knowledge of the trustees.

In Lusaka more than 50 properties in prime areas belonging to the fund have been ‘‘irregularly’’ transferred to the illegal company