According to authorities, Shepherd Bushiri, a fugitive preacher, his wife Mary, and seven of their accomplices are facing serious charges of money laundering totaling at least R73 million.
As information about the religious leader' s and his allies' purported financial wrongdoing gets more clear, the already troubled man is being closely watched.
The self- styled prophet, who was once well- known in the religious community in South Africa, is charged with managing a complex money laundering scheme by taking advantage of his prominence and religious influence.
Authorities assert that Bushiri and his spouse laundered millions via multiple avenues, passing off illicit gains derived from deception and fraud as respectable income.
The case, which has been the subject of an investigation for a number of years, suggests that a large number of people were involved in the money laundering. The main players in the inquiry have been Bushiri and Mary, who left South Africa for Malawi in 2020 after being given bail.
They have always refuted the accusations, arguing that they are being persecuted. According to City Press, investigators' bank records show that Bushiri and his co- accused moved the R73 million using a variety of corporate organizations and personal accounts.
Allegations have been made that this scheme involved front firms and shell corporations, with some of the transactions being hidden as genuine income from the church or charitable donations.
The claims have upset former followers of the controversial preacher and have created doubts about his Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) church. While many of Bushiri' s supporters have voiced their disenchantment, others have not wavered in their backing.
Authorities from Malawi and South Africa are still cooperating to try to extradite Bushiri and his spouse to South Africa for trial. The couple is still unreachable for the time being because the legal process to gain their extradition has stagnated despite repeated attempts.
As detectives dive further into Shepherd Bushiri' s intricate web of alleged financial malfeasance, the case is developing and represents yet another chapter in the contentious life of the notorious figure.
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