A South African national and chief executive officer of Sable Mining Africa, Jeremy Darrol Stewart Sanford, who was arrested at the Zimbabwe International Airport while allegedly trying to flee the country last Friday, appeared at the Harare Magistrates’ Court facing fraud and theft involving $5,3 million.
Sanford was not asked to plead when he appeared before provincial magistrate, Kudakwashe Jarabini, who released him on $1 500 bail.
He was ordered to surrender his British and South African passports, reside at his given Harare address, surrender title deeds to his Zimbabwean company known as Tunsgate Properties and not to interfere with State witnesses.
Allegations are that Sanford, who had no links with the complainant, Vivek Savji Solanki, a medical doctor and owner of Trauma Centre Hospital in Harare, was allegedly hired by African Medical Investment (AMI).
According to court papers, AMI is part of the Trauma Centre.
Sanford is alleged to have connived with one Mavis Mushonga and Paul Stefanos Stevenson, who have already appeared in court, in the company of others who are still at large, to withdraw cash from Solanki’s Stanbic, ZB and Metropolitan bank accounts.
Court papers say the accused allegedly withdrew $999 000 cash without the account holder’s consent.
It is also alleged Sanford, acted in connivance with others, still on the run, to steal hospital equipment which included three ambulances, five ordinary vehicles and 26 computers worth $4,5 million.
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Sanford was allegedly hired by AMI to work with Mushonga who was one of the directors of Autoband Investment operating as Trauma Centre.
Solanki had employed Stevenson, but he resigned in 2009 and was replaced by one Zarina Dudhia, the court papers say.
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 AMI, Andrew Groves and Phil Edmund, in South Africa and agreed to merge the two companies.
Groves and Edmund later proposed to buy VIP Health Care and offered to pay £5 million or 24 million shares in AMI.
They also proposed to buy Solanki’s Johannesburg Airport Clinic and Trauma Centre and Solanki allegedly agreed.
After Groves and Edmund failed to fulfil their part of the deal, 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 allegedly advanced to Dudhia, who was the sole signatory to Solanki’s bank accounts and she too fled the country.
The court heard Sanford and Mushonga allegedly invited Stevenson who had resigned and manufactured fraudulent letters purporting Solanki’s manager, Dudhia had resigned.
Using the fraudulent letter, Sanford, Mushonga and Stevenson allegedly applied to the banks for change of signatories and were granted leave to do so after which they withdrew the money.
