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$107 000 bank fraud suspects in court

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FIVE suspects appeared at the Harare Magistrates’ Court yesterday facing charges of defrauding the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development of over $107 300

FIVE suspects appeared at the Harare Magistrates’ Court yesterday facing charges of defrauding the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development of over $107 300 in a bank transfer scam involving bank employees.

CHARLES LAITON SENIOR COURT REPORTER

The suspects, who included two FBC Bank officials and three directors of a private company, Delight Technologies, were remanded to July 27 after their trial failed to kick off yesterday.

They are on $100 bail each.

The State alleges that sometime between December last year and January this year, FBC bank teller Dionne Kwezani and customer service official Melody Mutize, acting in cahoots with Delight Technologies’ directors Blessing Munofa Munjoma, Moses Mamvosha and Bevin Munjoma, fraudulently transferred the money from the ministry’s FBC bank account into some briefcase companies’ accounts they had created and later shared the proceeds.

Pursuant to their plan, Kwezani, acting in cahoots with his co-accused persons allegedly facilitated the opening of Bryte Course Investments bank account after forging the firm’s CR14 where Mamvosha and Bevin were cited as co-directors.

It, however, later turned out that the firm’s actual directors were Blessing and Clemio Pikire.

The State also alleges that the bank account was opened using fraudulent documents such as City of Harare tax invoice bearing Mamvocha’s particulars.

On January 13 this year, it is alleged, the accused persons raised two fraudulent daily internal payment instructions purporting the Ministry of Mines had authorised the transfer of $107 300 into the fraudulent account for Bryte Course Investments and the other transfer of $104 200 into a fictitious Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) bank account.

The transfer instructions were then presented to the bank by an unidentified person believed to be linked to the accused persons.

Instead of verifying the authenticity of the transfer instructions with the ministry through a telephone call, it is alleged Mutize falsely endorsed that she had done so with one Muzengera, a signatory to the ministry’s bank account.

On January 14 and 15 this year, Mamvosha and Bevin allegedly raised two withdrawal slips for the withdrawal of $10 000 and $400, respectively.

Bevin then allegedly presented the two withdrawal slips to Kwezani who transacted and facilitated the withdrawal of the money from Bryte Course Investment bank account.

The matter was, however, discovered during an internal audit and reported to police, leading to the suspects’ arrest and recovery of $57 000.

Three Harare lawyers Admire Rubaya, Auther Gurira and Trust Maanda represented the suspects.