A locally-based doctor who is the sole shareholder of Trauma Centre, Vivek Savji Solanki, was allegedly swindled of a whopping $501 000 by one of his company directors and a former employee.
Paul Stefanos Stevenson (41) and Mavis Mushonga (43) were arrested by police while their alleged co-accused persons, whose identities were not disclosed, are reportedly on the run.
According to allegations, sometime in 2001, Solanki appointed Mushonga to be a director of his company Autoband Investment, which was operating as Trauma Centre.
He also employed Stevenson who resigned in 2009 and was replaced by one, Zarina Dudhia.
In 2008, Solanki is said to have registered a company in Mauritius to build clinics in Africa called VIP Health Care.
He then met the owners of African Medical Investment, Andrew Groves and Phil Edmund, in South Africa and agreed to merge their two companies.
It is alleged Groves and Edmund later proposed to buy VIP Health Care and offered to pay £5 million pounds or 24 milion shares in African Medical Investment.
They also proposed to buy Solanki’s Johannesburg Airport Clinic and Trauma Centre Solanki allegedly agreed.
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After Groves and Edmund failed to fulfill their agreements, their relationship with Solanki soured and they allegedly threatened him and his family with death prompting him to flee the country.
The same threats were directed at Dudhia, who was the sole signatory to Solanki’s bank accounts, and she too fled the country.
It is alleged Mushonga, who was still employed by Solanki, but not being a signatory, called Stevenson who had resigned and faked a letter purporting Solanki’s manager, Dudhia had resigned.
Using the fraudulent letter, Mushonga and Stevenson allegedly applied to banks for change of signatories and succeeded.
The duo, in the company of others still at large, allegedly withdrew cash amounting to $501 000 from Stanbic, ZB and Metropolitan Banks.
Mushonga and Stevenson were not asked to plead when they appeared before Harare magistrate Donald Ndirowei facing a fraud charge.
They were granted $500 and $1 000 bail respectively and ordered to surrender their passports and to report at Avondale and Rhodesville Police stations respectively.
Stevenson was further ordered to surrender surety to his property valued at $180 000. Stevenson was represented by Innocent Musimbe and while Mushonga was represented by Beatrice Mtetwa. Molyn Mutamangira prosecuted.
