By Linda Kwanjan
The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) once moved decisively to close down two forex bureaus, Kalla Forex Bureau and Chaudhry Forex Bureau, both owned by the controversial businessman Mahmood Azhar Chaudhry.
The closures, carried out in the early 2000s, were linked to money laundering suspicions and violations of exchange control laws. Yet more than two decades later, Chaudhry’s name continues to surface in allegations of forex externalisation, tax evasion, and fraudulent property dealings, raising urgent questions about why authorities have failed to stop him.
At the time, RBM justified the shutdown of Kalla and Chaudhry Forex Bureaus as part of a broader effort to restore discipline in Malawi’s fragile foreign exchange market.
Investigators alleged that the bureaus were conduits for illicit transfers of foreign currency abroad, undermining national reserves and fueling parallel market activities. Economic experts say there was need, and still is, to investigate and prosecute Chaudhry after for all the criminal allegations over the closure of the bureaus and to establish if necessary fines were paid.
Regulators believed Chaudhry’s bureaus were used to disguise the movement of funds, with transactions structured to evade scrutiny.
Malawi, according to the economic analysts, would not tolerate operators who manipulated the system for personal gain. They say Malawi Revenue Authority should also disclose how it dealt with tax compliance issues on the two bureaus.
Despite the crackdown, Chaudhry has remained active in Malawi’s financial and property sectors, repeatedly surfacing in scandals that expose glaring enforcement gaps.
Recently, Chaudhry has been accused of exploiting duty‑free medical imports to siphon forex abroad. Through his firm MAS International and its subsidiary SMI Health Limited, he allegedly inflated invoices for medical supplies, securing foreign exchange allocations under false pretences.
Sources familiar with his operations warn that this scheme allows him to externalise forex while evading income tax.
“He does his stuff clean, but the deception is there,” one source in the financial sector disclosed, urging banks to scrutinise his applications carefully.
The recent allegations echo his past; it is all clear that it is the very practices that led RBM to close his bureaus. Yet, despite mounting criminal allegations, Chaudhry continues to operate with apparent impunity.
Chaudhry’s brazenness was laid bare in the High Court’s Commercial Division in Blantyre. In case number 21 of 2022, he admitted under oath that he had paid part of the purchase price for a Mercedes Benz in British pounds in London, bypassing RBM systems entirely.
Economic expert Moses Benderson described the admission as reckless, noting that such externalisation drains Malawi’s forex reserves and violates the Exchange Control Act. Offenders face fines, imprisonment, and seizure of assets. Yet Chaudhry walked away unscathed, continuing to transact with banks and government institutions.
Beyond forex, Chaudhry has been implicated in irregular property transfers. Title Number Blantyre East 15 was reportedly shifted to Mahli Trust, linked to Chaudhry and his wife, Neelam Azhar Mahmood. Concerns arose when Neelam presented herself as a Malawian citizen despite evidence that she is a British national residing on a permanent permit. He did also not pay Value Added Tax to Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) on this property transfer.
This revealation alone bars her from owning property in Malawi under amended land laws. Investigators suspect fraudulent identity documents were used to secure the transaction.
Such allegations point to systemic weaknesses in land governance, where loopholes are exploited by well‑connected individuals.
Analysts suggest a mix of weak enforcement, political connections like how Chaundhry exploited it under the previous Tonse Alliance regime, and institutional reluctance.
“He wears a straight face and keeps going, even when everyone knows what he is doing,” one observer noted.
MRA has reportedly intensified scrutiny of his transactions since 2022, but way forward is yet to be seen.
Forex externalisation is not a victimless crime. It drains reserves needed to stabilise the kwacha and finance essential imports, such as medicines and agriculture-related materials. In a country already grappling with forex shortages, such practices exacerbate economic fragility.
Money laundering, meanwhile, corrodes trust in financial institutions and deters legitimate investment. The closure of Kalla and Chaudhry Forex Bureaus was supposed to protect Malawi’s financial integrity. Allowing Chaudhry to continue similar schemes undermines that integrity and signals that enforcement is selective.
Economic experts further argue that the story of Kalla and Chaudhry Forex Bureaus is not just history, but a reminder of what happens when authorities act, and what happens when they fail to follow through.
Malawi’s regulators must confront a hard truth: closing bureaus is meaningless if individuals behind them continue unchecked, the econimic experts argue. Chaudhry’s repeated surfacing in forex and property scandals demands urgent prosecution.
Economic experts urge the Reserve Bank, MRA, and Fiscal Police, to coordinate to ensure that laws are enforced without fear or favour. Anything less, they say, risks emboldening others to exploit the system, deepening Malawi’s economic woes.
Chaudhry’s name has become synonymous with controversy in Malawi. From the closure of his forex bureaus on money laundering grounds to recent allegations of externalisation and fraudulent property transfers, the pattern is unmistakable.
The question now, according to economic experts, is whether authorities will finally act. If they fail, Malawi risks sending a dangerous signal: that the system can be gamed, that enforcement is optional, and that well‑connected individuals are untouchable.
