Tanzanian Association Oslo

UK-Tanzania car theft syndicate

Several bank accounts and luxury houses in Tanzania owned by professional conman Mponjoli Malakasuka, currently serving a jail sentence in the UK for involvement in an international car theft racket, are in line to be confiscated as part of efforts by British authorities to recover more than 1.6bn/- he is said to have illegally obtained.

Malakasuka was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison by a British court in July last year after pleading guilty to conspiracy to steal.

At the time of his arrest, police found the Tanzanian national living what was described as a life of luxury in a four-bedroom house in Walsall, West Midlands of England.

Inside the house were pictures of luxury houses located in Tanzania, which a UK court ruled last week were acquired through the proceeds of Malakasuka’s criminal activities.

Investigators have already identified two properties on a beach in Tanzania worth more than 300,000 pounds sterling (approx. 600m/-), as being owned by the convicted racketeer. He is believed to have other homes around the country.

British police are using the Proceeds of Crime Act of 2002 to recover any property obtained by Malakasuka through unlawful conduct.

The Wolverhampton Crown Court in central England has ordered him to pay back 828,000 pounds sterling (approx. 1.6bn/-) by November 7 this year, or face a fresh four-year prison sentence on top of his current one.

Financial investigators have also been able to trace 100,000s passing through more than 70 bank accounts in the UK and Tanzania, all controlled by Malakasuka, including one account which alone had 350,000 (approx. 700m/-).

The UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) has powers to seize cash it believes is crime- related, and to secure its forfeiture in court proceedings.

The Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Tanzania, Robert Manumba, told THISDAY previously that he was not personally aware of the case in the UK involving Malakasuka.

Commissioner of police Manumba was yesterday not immediately available to comment on latest developments, including whether or not local authorities will cooperate with British police in the recovery of Malakasuka’s assets in the country.

The British SOCA is understood to have made a confiscation order after Malakasuka’s conviction to deprive him of any such benefits he may have obtained from crime.

Apart from luxury houses and bank accounts, police say he was also heavily involved in the importation of various prestige motor vehicles to Tanzania, including Mercedes Benz S320 CDi and Porsche Cayenne cars.

In all, more than 300,000 (approx. 600m/-) worth of vehicles are understood to have been stolen.

At last week’s court hearing, the presiding judge said he was satisfied Malakasuka had access to large sums of criminal funds.

The lead investigator, UK detective sergeant Jonathan Jones, described it as a great investigation, as not only have we stopped fraud and theft, but we have now recovered the profit that this man made from his criminality.”

Malakasuka, due to be deported to Tanzania upon his release from a UK prison, has also been linked to the 133bn/- Bank of Tanzania external payment arrears (EPA) account scandal.

According to reports, investigators in the UK unearthed the connection while probing Malakasuka’s finances. The discovery prompted a new move to bring in Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to assist in probing the EPA scandal link.

from This Day (Tanzania)