Paramount Holdings Directors, namely Prakash Ghedia, Arvindkumar Patel and Suresh Jagatiya are together with their corporate identity, Paramount Holdings, answering criminal charges bordering on criminal fraud offenses committed during bidding.
The Attorney General, Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda, cautioned all government procuring entities against transacting with Paramount Holdings whilst the company is answering criminal charges related to procurement.
However, the new Agriculture Minister, Sam Kawale, has ignored the caution and proceeded to deal with Paramount Holdings in AIP fertilizer procurement deal.
The development has been disclosed through a letter prompted by International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) which is partly funding the Malawi Government’s AIP program for 2023/2024 season.
“The Ministry of Agriculture recommended to IFAD that Paramount Holdings Limited be awarded a contract after being the lowest evaluated bidder for the issuance of No Objection. However, IFAD discovered via social media during submission review process that Paramount Holdings Limited is responding to criminal case number 868 of 2023…”, reads part of the letter which is addressed to private prosecutors handling the case.
The Director of Public Prosecution, Masauko Chamkakala, issued a letter of consent to private prosecutors to prosecute Paramount’s criminal case following suspicious incident in which the files related to the case went missing from the police who were initially prosecuting the case.
