Attorney General George Masaju told The Citizen
last month that the probe report was ready but the Public Accounts
Committee (PAC) ordered that the findings be tabled in Parliament next
week.
The report is highly anticipated, given that it
will reveal who owns what in offshore bank accounts. It will also set
in motion legal action against the suspects.
PAC earlier asked the Tanzania Revenue Authority
(TRA) and Central Bank of Tanzania (BoT) to disclose the measures they
had taken to trace the money. They had not delivered concrete details
yesterday, though, and PAC ordered that the report compiled by a
taskforce led by former AG Frederick Werema be tabled in Parliament next
week.
BoT Deputy Governor Juma Reli said yesterday that
the bank had yet to take action against leaders with offshore accounts
despite a recent leak that shows that 99 Tanzanians have millions of
dollars in HSBC bank. Mr Reli, who declined to name those believed to
have off-shore accounts, said he was aware that the report was ready but
only the AG could release it. The Foreign Exchange Act requires that
Tanzanians apply for a permit before they can open offshore bank
accounts, according to Bank of Tanzania (BoT) Secretary Yuston Tongola.
Judge Masaju told editors in Dar es Salaam last
month that the final report would be tabled in Parliament any time and
the House would then debate the document and decide on the next course
of action.
The AG’s revelation came in the wake of leaked
data that showed that 99 Tanzanians wired $114 million (Sh205 billion)
to HSBC Bank in Switzerland from 2006 to 2007. But that amount hardly
comes close to the $1billion that has reportedly been stashed away
yearly from Tanzania in the form of capital flight, tax evasion and
money laundering.
PAC Chairman Zitto Kabwe yesterday urged the AG to
table the report in the next session of Parliament that is scheduled to
kick off on Tuesday next week.
Initially, Mr Kabwe summoned Judge Masaju to
appear before the PAC and present crucial information on the Swiss
billions, but he later backed down after the Deputy BoT governor
indicated that the report was ready.
The parliamentary committee further directed the
Central Bank to use the HSBC report to compile a list of individuals and
companies with offshore accounts.
Mr Kabwe revealed that HSBC officials came to
Tanzania to meet their clients in 2006 and 2007, contrary to the Foreign
Exchange Act. “The government should consider legal action against HSBC
officials for conducting business in the country without a licence,’’
he said.
According to PAC member Ismail Aden Rage, the law
does not allow Tanzanians to stash away that kind of money. He wondered
why the Central Bank had not yet cracked the whip on the offshore
account holders.
