FIC says two public servants got kickbacks after a new company won a K1.2 million school programme contract

The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has described a K1.2 million procurement scam linked to a public-school programme, in which a company that did not meet procurement requirements was handed a government contract and cashed out the full payment within three days. According to the FIC's 11th Money Laundering Trends Report, the company was newly registered, having been set up in 2025, and was run by two employees of a financial institution. It received the whole contract amount from a government institution and then withdrew all the money in cash within three days. The report says two public servants who sat on the committee that awarded the contract received transfers totalling 10 percent of the contract value, which the FIC treats as suspected kickbacks. The FIC does not name the company or the individuals. None of the people described has been convicted of any offence. ## What the FIC says happened In the FIC's account, three things stand out. The company was newly set up and still won a government contract it did not qualify for. The money was paid out in full by a government institution and taken out in cash within three days. And two of the officials who helped award the contract received 10 percent of its value, which the FIC reads as suspected kickbacks, or payment for giving the contract to that company. ## Why it matters School programmes are paid for with public money meant for classrooms, desks, books or meals. When a contract of K1.2 million goes to a company that should not have qualified, the pupils and parents who depend on government schools lose what that money was meant to buy. The case also involves two employees of a financial institution running the company, which raises questions about how such a firm was able to receive and move government money. ## What happens next No arrest, charge or court date in this case has been announced. Source: News Diggers, Shadreck Jere, 31 October 2026, 07:30 (Africa/Lusaka). Link: <https://diggers.news