What rhymes with capital hill cashgate scandal?
cap·i·tal hill cash·gate scan·dal

Capital Hill Cashgate Scandal or "Cashgate" is a financial scandal involving looting, theft and corruption that happened at Capital Hill, the seat of Government of Malawi. The scandal was uncovered during the administration of President Joyce Banda, though it is believed to have begun prior to her taking office.The scandal first came to light in September 2013, when an accounts assistant in the Ministry of Environment was found with several thousand dollars (USD) in his car. A week later, the Budget Director in the Ministry of Finance was shot outside his home, and several other civil servants were found hiding large sums of money, thus unravelling what came to be known as the "Cashgate" scandal.Following Cashgate's revelation, the British government sponsored an independent audit into the scandal, focusing on transactions made through Malawi's electronic financial management system. The first audit – released to the public in February 2014 – demonstrated that 16 Malawian companies received illicit payments from the government between April and September 2013 for goods and services that were not performed. All told, the audit found that an estimated $32 million (USD) was stolen during the six-month period under review. In October, 2013, more than 70 people were arrested in connection to Cashgate – many of whom were subsequently tried and convicted. President Joyce Banda also fired her entire cabinet.In October 2014, Baker Tilly provided the Government of Malawi with a confidential report summarizing individual case files from its original audit. The report – intended to be private and "provided to assist Malawian law enforcement agencies only" – outlines individuals and companies involved in illicit Cashgate-related transactions. It found the primary beneficiary of the scandal to be Osward Lutepo, who has since been sentenced to 11 years in prison. In November, 2014, after signs that Cashgate-related corruption extended beyond the term of the British government's audit, the German government initiated another audit to review potential theft dating back to 2009, under then-President Bingu wa Mutharika. The results of this audit have not yet been revealed. Several donor countries have since suspended foreign aid funding to Malawi as the scandal is deliberated.Cashgate remains a high-profile political dispute in Malawi. Current President Lazarus Chakwera and his Tonse Alliance (Malawi) continue to allege Banda's guilt in the scandal, though there is no evidence supporting this claim. Likewise, Banda and her People's Party (PP) have long speculated both Mutharikas’ involvement in Cashgate, citing the mysterious murder of the head of Malawi's Anti-Corruption Bureau, a failure to enact financial reforms and suspicious wealth accumulation of high-ranking DPP members. However, no link between either the former or current President Mutharika and Cashgate has been established.

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