ATTORNEY GENERAL SUPPORTS PROGRESS ON ANTI-MONEY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LUSAKA 001197 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KCOR KWMN SNAR ZA SUBJECT: ATTORNEY GENERAL SUPPORTS PROGRESS ON ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING, WOMEN'S JUSTICE, AND ANTI-CORRUPTION ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On December 24, Attorney General (AG) Mumba Malila shared with Ambassador his intention to recommend to Cabinet the establishment of a Financial Intelligence Unit that meets international standards and expressed his support for the Women's Justice and Empowerment Initiative, as well as other governance and anti-corruption measures. Malila serves as the chief legal advisor to the Zambian Government (GRZ) and represents the GRZ on all civil disputes. The AG is also the Chair of the GRZ's Anti-Money Laundering Authority and the Special Rapporteur for Prisons and Conditions of Detention on the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. End Summary. Anti-Money Laundering -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The AG acknowledged a recent Eastern and Southern African Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) peer review that found Zambia deficient of an internationally viable Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). He said that he intends to convene an interagency meeting to begin preparing recommendations for Cabinet. He noted that the dismissal (on corruption charges) in 2007 of the Drug Enforcement Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner, both of whom had previously opposed the creation of an administrative FIU, paved the way for GRZ-wide agreement. According to Malila, previous GRZ reluctance to move forward on AML also stemmed from Zambian memory of the "ruthless" acts of a former Special Investigations Team on Economy and Trade, a one-time financial arm of the security services that sought to strip businesses and political foes of their wealth. Human Rights -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The Ambassador recognized the AG for his former experience as Chair of Zambia's Human Rights Commission and inquired into prison congestion in Zambia, consisting primarily of detainees awaiting trial. The AG emphasized his concern for this issue, particularly given his activities on the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. He said the Ministry of Justice is preparing legislation that will allow law enforcement authorities to release prisoners awaiting trial who have been detained for a period equal to the maximum sentence of the crime for which they have been arrested. The Ambassador also recommended evaulating the prosecutorial merit of pending cases in order to help decongest Zambia's prison system. ¶4. (SBU) The Ambassador underscored the importance of confronting gender-based violence in order to address some of the root causes of HIV/AIDS. The AG said he was familiar with the USG's Women's Justice and Empowerment Initiative (WJEI) as well as recent USG training to Zambian prosecutors. He promised to offer his office's continued support to WJEI. Anti-Corruption -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The Ambassador inquired into the status of several critical anti-corruption bills (asset forfeiture, asset disclosure, evidence, plea bargaining, and whistleblower protection) that the USG had supported but which had not been presented to parliament for approval. Although the AG was familiar with these bills, he was unsure of their status. He took the Ambassador's point that, in order to continue to qualify for a Millennium Challenge Account compact, Zambia would need to show continued progress in its anti-corruption efforts. ¶6. (SBU) Regarding the UK "Zamtrop" judgment, in which a British High Court found former President Chiluba and numerous others liable for stealing over USD 40 million in government funds, the AG said that the ruling must be registered in a Zambian court in order for the GRZ to enforce it against Zambian-based defendants. He attributed the delay in registering the May 2007 judgment to the delaying tactics of the defendants, consisting of a series of appeals in the UK and Zambia. He also noted that the Zambian judge with whom the AG's office intended to register the UK ruling had been killed in a car accident in mid-December. Nevertheless, he thought the decision could be registered in early 2009 for enforcement. ¶7. (SBU) The AG said he was eager to hear the court decision regarding the authority of the Task Force on Coruption, an ad hoc body established by executive rder in 2002 to prosecute acts of high-level coruption committed during the administration of fomer Prsident Chiluba. The case concerns the reusal of businessmen Aaron Chungu and Faustin Kabw to appear before the Task Force on Corruption for LUSAKA 00001197 002 OF 002 questioning, on the basis that the Task Force lacks a legal mandate and is therefore unconstitutional. The AG, however, thought it unlikely that the High Court judge would approve Chungu's and Kabwe's motion, as this would delegitimize former President Mwanawasa's entire anti-corruption campaign. BOOTH