Isle IRS agent helps in Malawi

The Internal Revenue Service hopes to help its counterparts in Malawi thwart money laundering and tax evasion by sharing knowledge and investigative equipment.

As part of the effort, Special Agent John Madinger of the IRS Criminal Investigation office in Honolulu taught a four-day anti-money laundering course from May 15 to May 18 in Mangochi, Malawi.

Members of the Malawi Revenue Authority, Police Service, Anti-Corruption Bureau and Department of Public Prosecutions attended. Madinger has investigated violations of criminal tax, narcotics and money laundering laws for more than 20 years.

The IRS also provided 10 surplus laptops and investigative software, used to combat tax crimes, to investigators for the Malawi Revenue Authority.

Malawi, a densely populated country in southeastern Africa, in September passed a anti-money-laundering law, which has yet to take effect. The absence of a strong anti-money-laundering program can be costly — foreign banks charge their Malawian counterparts a premium of $5 million to $10 million each month, which they do not charge countries with money-laundering rules in place, said Anthony Kamanga, Malawi's Law Commissioner and author of the legislation.

"Treasury worked with them to get the law passed," Madinger said. "We are trying to give them the tools they need to implement it effectively."

Tax evasion is another pressing issue in Malawi and one that the IRS hopes the special training and computers will address.