What was supposed to help Malawi grow more food has turned into one of the biggest corruption scandals since Cashgate. Investigators say at least K39 billion of public money was stolen from the Greenbelt Authority (GBA) between March and July 2025. The money was taken using fake invoices, inflated contracts, and fake work certificates.
Senior government officials worked together with private companies to steal the money. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) says K36.78 billion was paid to contractors without proper guarantees and without real work being done. The money was later withdrawn in cash and shared among company owners, Greenbelt officials, and politicians.
The Greenbelt Authority is a government-owned institution, created under the Greenbelt Authority Act of 2017. Its job is to support large-scale irrigation farming to improve food security and grow the economy. Instead, investigators say it became a cash machine for looting public money.
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The stolen money was meant for four major irrigation projects under the 2025 Greenbelt Initiative: Kickbacks paid to Greenbelt officials through third parties: These officials approved payments without work being done and later received money from contractors. One shocking case involved K2 billion being paid into a student’s bank account, even though the student declared a monthly income of K250,000. Banks failed to flag this transaction. More arrests are expected, including senior government officials.
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