The National Advocacy Platform wants senior NOCMA officials suspended and the board dissolved over a US$403,605 payment made to a fraudulent account, calling the incident a grave failure of financial controls and oversight.
NEWS | Governance | Public Funds | By Watipaso Mzungu
The National Advocacy Platform (NAP) has called for the suspension of senior officials and dissolution of the board of the National Oil Company of Malawi (NOCMA) following revelations that the company paid US$403,605 into a fraudulent account after a purported change of supplier banking details.
In a statement released on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, NAP, a local governance coalition, said the incident points to a “grave breakdown of due diligence, financial controls, fiduciary responsibility and institutional oversight” at the publicly funded company.
According to NOCMA, the money was transferred to a bank account allegedly belonging to Mozhandling Limited, a supplier under the government-to-government (G2G) fuel procurement arrangement.
About two weeks after the payment, the legitimate supplier followed up on the same outstanding amount, indicating that the funds had been sent to the wrong account.
NAP national chairperson Benedicto Kondowe and executive director Baxton Nkhoma said the change of banking details was “an unmistakable red flag” that should have stopped the transaction and triggered direct confirmation with the supplier.
“No prudent institution entrusted with public money should transfer US$403,605 to newly supplied banking details without rigorous, independent verification through previously authenticated channels,” they said.
The platform wants NOCMA to explain who verified the new account, who authorised the payment and where the board was when the company’s controls failed.
NAP also criticised NOCMA for acknowledging that new contractual, financial, shipping and clearing processes under the G2G arrangement were operational before the relevant procedures had been fully developed and institutionalised.
“Public money cannot be exposed first and safeguards developed later,” NAP said, describing the loss as “economically indefensible, institutionally unacceptable and morally unconscionable” at a time when Malawi is facing foreign exchange shortages and underfunded essential services.
The platform is demanding the immediate suspension of all senior management and officials materially involved in the transaction, pending an independent investigation.
It is also calling for the immediate dissolution of the NOCMA board, citing a breakdown of oversight.
NAP further wants an independent and transparent forensic investigation into the verification and authorisation of the payment, the effectiveness of NOCMA’s controls and the destination of the US$403,605.
“We also ask law enforcement agencies to arrest and prosecute all persons against whom evidence of criminal conduct is established, and publication of the forensic findings and action taken,” Kondowe and Nkhoma said.
The platform said NOCMA’s internal review “is no substitute for independent accountability” and warned against using “cyber fraud” as an explanation for what it considers an institutional failure.
“Fraud may explain the deception; it does not absolve the failure of controls that should have prevented the payment,” the statement said.
According to Kondowe and Nkhoma, the matter is now “a direct test of Government’s commitment to accountability”. They urged the President to resist any attempts to “dilute, delay or politically manage accountability”.
“US$403,605 is Malawi’s money, not expendable public loss. It must be recovered and responsibility must carry consequences. Anything less will send a dangerous message that those entrusted with public resources can fail the country and simply walk away,” NAP said.
NAP is also demanding that the funds be traced, frozen and fully recovered, including from anyone found liable for negligence or misconduct.
NOCMA had not responded to the demands by the time of publication.
