Zambia loses K800m

OLIVER SAMBOKO writes ZAMBIA is losing over £37 million (K888 million) annually in revenue due to some casinos and game betting outlets operating illegally, an expert has said. Attorney General Association (AGA) board members, Markus Green, said Zambia should strengthen its laws to stop money laundering in the casino and game betting sectors. He noted while the Zambia Tourism and Hospitality (Casino) Regulations No. 93 of 2016 mandated casino operators to obtain a licence, some operators were not adhering to regulations resulting in the country losing colossal sums of money in revenue. Mr Green was speaking when he addressed the workshop organized by the Financial Intelligence Centre(FIC) and AGA. He is a board member in-charge of training of prosecutors, judges, and investigators of transnational crimes. Mr Green was however happy that the Zambian Government recently abolished the 20 percent casino levy and introduced a new tax regime on casino, lottery, betting and gaming to boost revenue collection from the gambling industry. Stakeholders drawn from investigative wings, prosecutors, casino operators and other sectors are gathered at Sandy’s creation in Chilanga for a two-day training workshop on the money laundering in casinos. Mr Green said in the wake of COVID-19, operators of casinos, sports betting facilities and slot businesses should adhere to health guidelines as they resume operations. He said his organization was looking forward to more collaborations with Zambian authorities to strengthen and support the rule of law and explore ways in which to help law enforcement agencies. Mr Green paid special tribute to the FIC for being instrumental in facilitating collaboration with law enforcement, Government, financial and civic institutions to promote knowledge exchange in fighting financial crimes in the country. He said the AGA in collaboration with FIC had been hosting a number of successful workshops on Trade-Based Money Laundering and was happy to host the virtual session on Casino’s in Zambia which would allow the country to detect money laundering. The Sun