The defendant, Austi Chisangu Liato, is a former Zambian politician who served as the Member of the National Assembly for Kaoma Central between 2002 and 2011 and as Minister of Labour and Social Security from 2008 until September 2011.
On 24 November, 2011, the Defendant was arrested after police discovered two buried trunks on his farm filled with aproximately ZMW 2.1 billion of cash sealed under a layer of concrete. He was charged with one count of possession of property suspected of being proceeds of crime contrary to Section 71(1) of the Zambian Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act No. 19 of 2010.
Farm
The trial Magistrate ordered the forfeiture of ZMW 2,100,100,000 which was suspected of being proceeds of crime. The farm at which the money was found was also forfeited.
Subordinate Court
In the Subordinate Court, the trial Magistrate convicted the defendant of one count of possession of property suspected of being proceeds of crime contrary to section 71(1) of the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act No. 19 of 2010.
He was sentenced to twenty-four imprisonment with hard labour. The trial Magistrate also ordered the forfeiture of the ZMW 2,100,100,000 and the farm.
High Court of Zambia
The defendant appealed his conviction to the High Court of Zambia.
The High Court reversed the decision of the lower court. The Court held that the prosecution failed to provide enough evidence to prove the offence with which the responded was charged.
Supreme Court of Zambia
The Prosecution appealed the High Court judgement to the Supreme Court of Zambia. The Court found that the High Court had erred in its interpretation of Section 71(1) of the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act No. 19 of 2010.
The Supreme Court reinstated the finding of guilt against the defendant.
Former labour minister of Zambia
Section 71(1) of the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act No. 19 of 2010
Possession of property suspected of being proceeds of crime
Imprisonment with hard labour
Supreme Court of Zambia
People v Liato [2015] ZMSC 26
The legal issue raised before the Supreme Court of Zambia concerned the burden of proof and the standard of proof used in relation with the offence of possession of property suspected of being proceeds of crime.
The Supreme Court held that, unlike in general criminal law, the standard of proof for the offence of Section 71(1) of the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act No. 19 of 2010 is the standard to prove the 'reasonable suspicion' which is a lower standard than 'proof beyond reasonable doubt'.
Moreover, the Supreme Court held that once the prosecution had proved its case under Section 71(1), it belonged to the accused to show they did not have reasonable grounds for suspecting that the property was derived from criminal activity.
To interpret the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act, the Supreme Court refered to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the United Nations Convention against Illicit Substances and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime which Zambia ratified. The Court held that all these conventions were made to provide flexible standards on the burden of proof, which the Forfeiture of Proceeds of Crime Act implemented in Zambian law.