Bogus firm exposed

Mon, 12 Jun 2017 11:08:59 +0000

…as Saturnia Pension Scam deepens

By NATION REPORTER

GOVERNMENT has finally stepped in to expose a damning array of irregularities in the nation’s largest private pension fund, Saturnia Regna.

A Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) demand notice of close to K3 million to Saturnia Regna Pension Trust Limited, a company that should have been closed 11 years ago, has elicited a response from BC Benefits Consulting Services Limited and African Life Financial Services Zambia Limited, companies involved in the management of genuine Saturnia Pension Fund.

The limited company was formed as a parallel to the Saturnia Regna Pension Trust Fund.

The Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA), realising the duplicity, had ordered the company closed 10 years ago but it continued operating and the Fund managers have been paying for its bills without authorisation from the Trustees of the Fund.

It is the same managers that have externalised  more than k400 million in unauthorised illegal investments.

Saturnia Regna Pension Trust Limited was registered in 2004 and the shareholders are African Life Financial Services Zambia Limited and Botswana Insurance Fund Management. African Life is in turn owned by Menel Management Services whose shareholders are Munakupya Hantuba, Hakainde Hichilema and Valentine Chitalu.

Ongoing investigations have revealed that the bogus company has been abusing the resources of the Saturnia Regna Pension Trust Fund to meet its liabilities and has also been leasing Fund properties without the knowledge of the Trustees.

The ZRA sent the demand letter to Saturnia Regna Pension Trust Limited on 9th September, 2016 for VAT arrears amounting to ZMW 1,574,947.64 interest of ZMW 10,368.77 Withholding Tax of ZMW 455,387.00 and interest of ZMW 102.00.

The demand notice number 2386100 read in part as  following “examination of your account shows that on 09/09/2016, a balance of K2, 040,805.00 was owing to the government of the Republic of Zambia.

“Payment of this amount is demanded. If this amount is not paid immediately, debt recovery action will be instituted against you without any further notice.”

Benefits Consulting Services Limited which is the Fund Manager for Saturnia Regna Pension Fund made a commitment to settle the amount on behalf of Saturnia Pension Trust Limited a company which does not have any relationship with the Pension Fund.

“On behalf of our client Saturnia Regna Pension Trust Fund, we are in receipt of your demand notice dated 9th September, 2016 received on 16th September, 2016,” Bencon wrote committing pension funds to settle the liabilities on behalf of the bogus company.

“We request to enter into a time to pay agreement of ZMW 1,585,316.61 for a period of 12 months whilst the issues are being reconciled and resolved. The amount is after consideration of the ZMW 455,387.15 whose proof of payment details are attached.”

“Please find attached the Bank Statements for the period July to September 2016 and the cash flow statement for 8 months for the year 2016.”

But according to the Saturnia Regna Pension Fund Accounts for the year ended December 2016,  a sum of  ZMW 2,797,412.76 has already been paid out from the pension funds to settle the ZRA liabilities as well as legal fees on behalf of the limited company. The payments were posted to the sundries account.

The Saturnia Board of Trustees expressed ignorance of the letter of demand. “As you can see, the demand was on Saturnia Regna Pension Trust Limited but they are stealing pension funds and using the name of Saturnia Regna Pension Fund in vain.”

The legal fees of K632, 000.00 were in settlement of a claim by Nkwazi Chambers against the ghost company and African Life Financial Services Limited over the dubious lease of Plot 6392, Dunduza Chisiza Crescent in Lusaka. The Board of Trustees were not aware of the litigation which was concluded under Appeal Number 48 /2014 and never approved or knew about the lease of the property.

This is the second time that the ghost company is using Pension Funds to settle its liabilities. In 2014, the Fund Manager arbitrarily paid out ZMW 2,000,000.00 pension funds to settle a significant legal judgment made against Saturnia Regna Pension Trust Limited.

Saturnia Regna Pension Trust Limited was mooted by African Life Financial Services Limited to be a corporate nominee of the Pension Fund but the Registrar of the PIA ordered that the company be de-registered because there was no provision in the Pension Insurance Authority Act for corporate trustees.

It was also felt that such an arrangement would present very serious conflict of interest because the shareholders in the limited company were also the shareholders in Benefits Consulting Services Limited and African Life Financial Services Limited which are Saturnia Regna Pension Fund manager and administrator respectively.