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Finland seeking refund from Zambian farmers body

Xinhua, December 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

Finland said Thursday that it had entered into discussions with the new management of a farmers' body in Zambia to seek refund of its misappropriated money, local media reported.

In September, the Finnish and Swedish governments demanded for refunds from the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) after an audit revealed serious misappropriation of funds.

The audit found that about 3.4 million U.S. dollars was misappropriated in a suspected high-level fraud. Two former senior officials at the farmers' body have since been arrested.

Finnish Ambassador to Zambia Timo Olkkonen said discussions had commenced with the new management over the refunds of the money, according to the Lusaka Times, a local online publication.

The Finnish envoy further expressed concern over the high levels of corruption in Zambia which he said should not be allowed to continue.

He said the Finnish government has encountered corruption in some of the other programs it was supporting in the country and cited a government farmer input subsidized program where "ghost farmers" have been exposed as an example. Endit