The ACC is investigating seven audit-related complaints, while separate FIC referrals include a school feeding case involving more than K2 million. The figures require careful reading.
Key takeaways
- The ACC says it has opened investigations into seven corruption-related complaints arising from the 2025 Auditor General’s Report.
- Audit queries can reveal weaknesses in public spending controls; they do not, on their own, establish corruption.
- Separately, the ACC received six corruption-related referrals from the FIC. Chabu says one investigation led to five arrests; the other five remain under investigation.
- The reported fall in suspected illicit financial flows, from US$3.5 billion to US$1.8 billion, does not measure the full extent of financial crime.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has begun investigating seven corruption-related complaints arising from Zambia’s 2025 Auditor General’s Report, Director General Daphne Chabu says.
The complaints concern financial irregularities that may leave public money vulnerable to misuse, according to Chabu’s remarks reported by ZNBC on 4 November. She cautioned that an audit query is not automatically evidence of corruption, although it may identify weaknesses requiring investigators to examine the underlying transactions.
What do the seven audit complaints mean?
The announcement marks a move from identifying problems in the public accounts to examining whether particular conduct warrants enforcement action. It does not establish that seven offences have been committed, or that every financial irregularity in the report involves criminal wrongdoing.
Chabu said unresolved audit findings declined from 33 in 2024 to 27 in 2025. The 2025 report’s executive summary describes its figure more precisely: 27 paragraphs of findings remained unresolved, with corrective action outstanding at 30 September 2026. A paragraph may contain several issues, so the count should not be read as a tally of individual losses or offences.
Our analysis of Zambia’s 2025 audit findings explains why unpaid government obligations, uncollected revenue and irregular expenditure require different remedies. The ACC’s announcement does not identify which seven complaints it is pursuing or give their combined financial value.
Six FIC referrals are a separate part of the update
Chabu also said the commission received six corruption-related cases from the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC). She reported that an investigation involving more than K2 million had been concluded and had led to the arrest of five people over alleged corruption connected with school feeding programme funds.
Those arrested included the Chama district board secretary and bank officials, according to the account of her remarks. The remaining five FIC-referred cases are still being investigated.
The reported completion concerns the investigation. The update does not report a conviction or a final court judgment. Arrests remain allegations to be tested through the justice process.
The seven audit-related complaints and six FIC referrals should be kept distinct. The announcement does not establish whether the two groups overlap, and they cannot safely be added together as 13 separate investigations.
Do lower reported figures mean less corruption?
The update cites suspected illicit financial flows of US$1.8 billion in 2025, compared with US$3.5 billion in 2024. It also puts corruption-related FIC cases at six, down from ten.
These measures describe different things: the value of suspected flows and the number of cases. Neither is a count of convictions or an estimate of every illicit transaction in Zambia. Changes in reporting and detection can affect what enters the intelligence record.
In its release accompanying the 2025 Trends Report, the FIC attributes the reduction in illicit financial flows to government measures, including Advance Income Tax. That is the centre’s assessment. The lower headline figure alone cannot establish the scale of any change in underlying corruption.
Why the follow-through matters for public services
School feeding funds are intended to support meals for pupils. Any proven diversion would reduce resources available for that purpose. The announcement does not quantify missed meals or establish a loss to beneficiaries, and those consequences should not be assumed.
For businesses supplying public institutions, the practical lesson is to retain complete procurement approvals, delivery records and payment documentation. For banks, the reported involvement of bank officials makes the handling and review of programme payments a matter to watch as the case develops.
What should citizens and investors watch next?
Useful follow-up information would include the institutions covered by the seven complaints, any charges brought, amounts recovered where wrongdoing is established, and evidence that spending controls have been corrected. These outcomes would provide a firmer basis for judging accountability than a fall in the number of reported findings alone.
Chabu urged public officers to use public resources only for their intended purposes. The next test is whether the investigations produce clear, publicly reported outcomes while allowing those accused a fair opportunity to answer the allegations.
Photo: ACC Director General Daphne Chabu. Photo credit: ACC.
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