Kitwe company says K5 million was moved out of its account; accountant arrested in Lusaka

Police on the Copperbelt have arrested a Lusaka accountant after K5 million was taken from the bank account of Coretech Supplies Limited, a Kitwe company, through unauthorised electronic transfers. Copperbelt Police Commanding Officer Rae Hamoonga said in a statement on Sunday that the company had just received K5 million from an institution it had done contract work for. On 13 October the money was moved out in three transfers: K2 million to one bank account, K2,990,000 to a second bank account and K10,000 to a mobile money number. The company's representative received an alert that K2 million had been transferred and went to the bank to ask what was happening. While the representative was at the bank, the second transfer of K2,990,000 went through. The company's director, Similawo Simbuliani, 47, reported the theft at Kitwe Central Police Station. The arrest After the alert, security measures were put in place, which led police to a suspect in Lusaka. He is Johnson Malupande, 41, an accountant at Nexxus Manufacturing Limited. Police allege the first K2 million landed in his account and that he withdrew K48,000 from it. Officers recovered K41,168 in cash from him when he was arrested. On 16 October, officers from Kitwe Central Police Station travelled to Lusaka and took him into custody. He remains in custody and is helping police with their investigations. No charge has been announced, and he has not been convicted of any offence. Why it matters The case shows how fast an account can be emptied once someone has access to it. Coretech's money was gone in a single day, and the biggest transfer went out while the company was at the bank trying to stop it. Of the K5 million, police have so far recovered just over K41,000. The risk is not only for businesses. Many Zambians keep their money on mobile money rather than in a bank, and the same kind of unauthorised transfer can wipe out a trader's stock money or a family's savings. Police urged the public and busines