Zambia's Task Force on Corruption said Tuesday it has been investigating cases involving the plunder of millions of US dollars from the state-owned Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) in the sale of copper and cobalt.

Task Force Spokesman Mpazi Sinyangwe said in a statement that the task force is now preparing criminal charges against a number of individuals in Britain and other countries.

"Criminal charges will be followed by applications for extradition of such individuals to stand trial in Zambian court," he said.

The Task Force on Corruption was founded by President Levy Mwanawasa in 2002 to investigate and prosecute corrupt officials during the 10 year rule of former president Frederick Chiluba. Chiluba and many other senior officials have been charged.

Though the task force has been widely criticized for its slow progress in prosecution, its morale was certainly boosted recently when a London court ruled that a piece of real estate worth seven million dollars in Belgium sold in suspicious circumstances by Austin Kabwe, chief of Access Financial Services Limited be returned to the Zambian government.

"Consideration is also being given to commencement of criminal proceedings against some lawyers, accountants and offshore financial service providers, some of whom already face civil action for their roles as conduits for siphoning, concealing, laundering and channeling stolen Zambian government money into private investments in foreign jurisdiction in different parts of the world," said Sinyangwe.

Zambia is the world's major copper and cobalt producer. Export of the two metals is Zambia's single largest source of foreign exchange earnings.

Source: Xinhua