Malawi’s government has issued sweeping financial demands against three multinational corporations, including a gemstone dealer, an energy giant, and a tobacco firm, alleging that these entities owe enormous sums in unpaid taxes, royalties, or revenue. The requests amount to hundreds of billions of dollars, far exceeding the country’s gross domestic product and dwarfing its national debt.
Authorities claim that the gemstone company, based in North America, vastly underreported the value of rubies extracted and exported from Malawi over the past decade. The government cites the firm’s own public disclosures as evidence and insists that it deserves compensation for revenue that never reached state coffers. The accused company rejects the claims, calling them baseless, and points out that Malawi has never produced the fantastical volumes implied by the demanded sum.
In another case, officials seek billions of dollars from a major global energy provider, alleging that it failed to honor profit-sharing arrangements relating to a storage agreement dating back more than two decades. The company has not commented on these allegations.
Malawi also targets a foreign tobacco buyer that supposedly neglected payment for a massive shipment of leaves. Although the company insists it paid for a smaller quantity of lower-quality tobacco, the government references past legal victories in foreign courts to support its claim.
Observers attribute these moves to the government’s urgent need for revenue. Economic strains and an international bailout have prompted officials to look for new streams of income, though many doubt that these massive claims will reach a successful conclusion.