A Global Witness investigation has found evidence that First Quantum Minerals (FQM), a Canadian mining company that controls more than half of Zambia's copper output, has run a decades-long covert campaign to shape Zambia's political landscape — allegedly bankrolling President Hakainde Hichilema's ruling party across multiple elections and securing an estimated $771 million in tax savings since 2022. The report details how FQM and associated consulting firms, including the now-closed Brenthurst Foundation and British lobbying group SABI Strategy, have helped craft government economic policy, run social media influence operations, and embedded campaign staff inside Zambia's State House. The investigation also alleges that in December 2025, opposition and independent lawmakers were flown to a luxury safari lodge owned by the Pascall family — who have led FQM for three decades — and offered up to $150,000 each to vote in favour of a controversial constitutional bill that critics say was designed to entrench the ruling party's advantage ahead of the August 2026 general election. FQM denies funding Hichilema's party or promising support for the upcoming campaign, and Global Witness states it is not alleging corruption; nonetheless, the findings raise broad concerns about the vulnerability of resource-dependent democracies to corporate capture by powerful extractive industries.