A HARARE businessman, Lourence Erasmas Vermaak, yesterday appeared at the Harare Magistrates’ Court charged with filing fraudulent documents at the Registrar of Companies offices in a bid to facilitate his takeover of shares and land worth $6 million.
BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE
Vermaak (76), the owner of Accounting and Executor Services, was not asked to plead when he appeared before magistrate Barbara Chimboza, who remanded him to August 8 on $100 bail.
According to the court papers, the complainant is indicated as one of the directors of Twairob Investments.
Allegations are that on September 27, 2003, the complainant acquired a shelf company called Twairob Investments (Pvt) Ltd from Emma Nasho and Petros Johnson, which led to the transfer of its directorship and shareholding structure into the complainant and his wife Tsitsi Mutanga’s names.
On October 15 of the same year, the complainant allegedly bought a plot called Gurlyn Barton A, situated in Borrowdale, Harare, measuring over 29 hectares, from Cecily Jean Francis Macguire for ZW$220 million, which he paid in full.
As a result, the complainant instructed Macguire to transfer the ownership of the plot to Twairob Investments, which was done under title deed number 194/2004.
The complainant allegedly transferred all the Twairob Investments shares on January 7, 2004 into Mai Kai Real Estate Development Trust, in which he is one of the trustees.
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It is the State’s case that on June 16, 2004, Vermaak “clandestinely and without the knowledge and consent of the complainants” created two fraudulent share certificates citing that Macguire Farming (Pvt) Ltd had acquired 498 shares and Macguire two shares from Twairob Investiments, yet he was not the company secretary.
The said shares were allegedly later tendered at the Office of the Registrar of Companies, which led to the directorship of Twairob Investments being changed to reflect the names of Macguire and his company, Macguire Farming, while Thomas Wisdom was endorsed as the company secretary.
The State alleges the offence came to light when the complainant was served with High Court summons in which Christopher and Philip Mcquire sought to be declared the directors and shareholders of Twairob Investments, which prompted him to make his own investigations and discovering the said fake shareholder certificate which had Vermaak’s company date stamp and signature. A report was made to the police, leading to Vermaak’s arrest.
Linda Gadzikwa appeared for the State.
