The Great Launderer of Zambia

The former president of Zambia, Frederick Chiluba, has been found guilty of plundering £23 million from government funds, and spending £600,000 of it on clothes. Mr. Chiluba served as President from 1991-2001, much of which he spent shopping at exclusive designer outlets in Switzterland, while his people struggled to survive on around 50 pence a day.

During his trial in London, where money had been illegally transferred during his presidency, the scale of Mr. Chiluba's extravagance was revealed by the anti-corruption task force set up by his successor, President Mwanawasa. 349 shirts, bearing the former president's FJT monogram, had been seized; 206 suits and jackets, mainly from Swiss retailer Basile; 72 pairs of shoes, all with special high heels to compensate for Mr. Chiluba's diminutive height. The rest of the £32 million had been spent on cars, luxury homes and shared out to his colleagues.

It is no small irony that, while Mr. Chiluba swanned about Switzerland having suits made and shoes fitted, the tailors of Savile Row in London struggled to survive amid a culture of overpriced ready-to-wear designer clothing. Mr. Chiluba could have spent his money more conscienciously, by having bespoke suits made for him by the likes of Henry Poole and Anderson & Sheppard, instead of pouring his money into a country that is already brimming with freshly laundered lucre.