What happened
Maravi Express reported on 11 November 2026, citing a Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) statement by head of corporate affairs Wilma Chalulu, that customs clearing agent Samuel Kachigamba was arrested on Tuesday 10 November 2026 on allegations of using a fraudulent Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) to evade advance income tax of MK3,327,425. He is described as an imports and exports controller for KAS Freight Limited on Salmin Amour Road, Ginnery Corner, Blantyre. The MRA alleges he procured and knowingly forwarded a fraudulent TCC (reference MRA/BSTO/TCC/006242, dated 16 April 2025) to another clearing agent for uploading into ASYCUDA World to obtain an advance income tax exemption on customs declaration C13525 (14 July 2025) at Mwanza Border Station, for gears imported by Lime Co. The MRA said the presumption of innocence applies; the allegations are unproven.
How the scam works
Maravi Express, reporting the Malawi Revenue Authority, said Samuel Kachigamba, a clearing agent, was arrested over the alleged use of a fraudulent tax clearance certificate with reference MRA/BSTO/TCC/006242, involving about MK3.3 million in advance income tax. He is accused, not convicted, and the allegations are unproven. The report names his employer only as the place he worked; the employer is not itself accused here.
A tax clearance certificate should be checked through official MRA channels, not accepted at face value because it uses an official-looking reference number. Other tax-related cases reported the same day include a South African trial listing and Kent Police charges over allegedly undeclared business income.
Source
Maravi Express, 11 November 2026, reporting the Malawi Revenue Authority: https://www.maraviexpress.com/mra-arrests-customs-clearing-agent-over-alleged-use-of-fraudulent-tax-clearance-certificate/
https://x.com/Malawi24/status/2120529953489858632
