A Korean national, Choi Kwang Sei, a permanent resident of Zimbabwe, was allegedly swindled of over $28 000 by a Harare businessman in a fraudulent lease agreement deal.
It is alleged Sei paid Charles Phillip Mbanje $28 800 after the two entered into the lease agreement of a shop at Finance House along Speke Avenue in central Harare.
Mbanje was arrested for allegedly leasing out property that did not belong to him.
Mbanje was at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday but the trial failed to take off after provincial magistrate Kudakwashe Jarabini ruled there was “improper service” (of summons).
Instead of summoning the accused, the state subpoenaed him as if he was a state witness. The magistrate ordered the state to summon Mbanje properly.
The state alleges that sometime in October 2009, Sei approached Mbanje intending to rent part of Reliance House for a shop and the two agreed on certain terms.
Sei was allegedly asked to pay $25 000 as goodwill for a two-year period and monthly rentals of $2 170.
The state alleges Mbanje wilfully convinced Sei to enter into a partnership agreement in order to avoid eviction from the premises by the owners of the building.
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After paying a total of $28 800, Sei moved his equipment into the shop and started renovating the place.
Later Sei received an eviction order from Mbanje who alleged the eviction was not avoidable in the circumstances.
But when Sei asked for his money back, Mbanje allegedly failed to refund him, leading to Sei reporting the matter to the police.
