TWO Zimbabwe Revenue Authonty (Zimra) employees appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court to answer to a charge of facilitating the importation of vehicles using fraudulent civil servants rebate scheme letters.
Pardon Makanda (36) and Robert Jakopo (31) appeared before Harare magistrate Stanford Mambanje, who remanded them in custody to today for bail ruling.
Makanda, Jakopo and their accomplice Patricia Lisa Masia and Tendai Chapfunya, who have already appeared in court, allegedly connived to defraud Zimra.
Allegations are that on February 1, this year, Masia applied to the Finance ministry for authority to import a Toyota Auris vehicle and attached an invoice as proof of purchase.
On March 29, the Finance ministry issued a letter of authorisation to Masia to import the vehicle.
It is alleged that Masia fraudulently changed the name of vehicle from Toyota Auris to a Mercedes Benz and approached Richard Farai Sambo for assistance to circumvent the system.
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On April 24, Tendai Chapfunya was approached by Richard Farai Sambe on behalf of Masia seeking assistance to facilitate issuance of a fraudulent rebate letter changing details of the Toyota Auris chassis number to that of a Mercedes Benz.
It is alleged that on the same day, Chapfunya contacted Makanda who told him to send the documents and US$800 for the facilitating of the fraudulent change.
Makanda instructed Chapfunya to give the money to his friend’s wife in her office at Zimra 2B Building.
Makanda, in connivance with Jakopo at Zimra Masvingo, generated a fake rebate letter in the name of Masia with details of a Mercedes Benz instead of a Toyota Auris. On April 27, Chapfunya received the rebate letter dated April 24, 2023 from Jakopo which he forwarded to Zimra border offices for Masia to import the Mercedes Benz.
Zimra officials at Kariba border post, however, discovered that the vehicle was undervalued and that there were discrepancies between the authorisation letter and rebate letter. They impounded the motor vehicle.