Controversial Marondera businessmen Francesco Marconati will wait longer to regain his freedom after the Harare magistrates’ court remanded him to February 25.
Marconati (66), who was arrested on January 30 on fraud allegations, saw his High Court appeal against a magistrates’ court ruling denying him bail thrown out.
He first appeared in court on January 31 and was remanded to February 16 on February 2 by magistrate Jessie Kufa.
Prosecutor Lancelot Mutsokoti asked him to approach the High Court for bail if he wished.
The High Court denied Marconati freedom saying he had multiple identities and was a flight risk.
He is also awaiting trial on charges of illegal gun possession.
The businessman spent the Christmas holiday behind bars after he was arrested on allegations of illegal possession of guns following the fatal shooting of a local man by one of his guards at Duration Gold Limited (DGL) Mine 5.
At some point villagers in Inyathi sought police clearance to protest against Marconati over the shooting, but they were twice blocked by the police, whom they accused of protecting him.
Marconati’s latest brush with the law followed a report by DGL 5 alternate directors Yan Bo and Ke Wang.
Yan accused Marconati and Mark Andrew Hughes, an Australian, who was illegally given shares by the businessman, of orchestrating an illegal takeover of the gold mine.
Hughes allegedly fled to South Africa after the fraud was exposed.
The offence came to light on December 30 when Yan visited the Registrar of Companies where he discovered that Marconati and Hughes had re-registered the mine, appointing themselves as the only directors of DGL mine.
“Such actions by Franscesco Marconati and Mark Andrew Hughes amount to fraud,” part of Ibo’s affidavit read.
“This is so because at the time of re-registration, Francesco Marconati and Mark Andrew Hughes had failed to enforce the court order that they had obtained under HCBC 9/25.
“This means that the directors of Investment Number 5 were Xing Ming Chang, Li Song and Ke Wang.
“Upon obtaining the court order under HCBC 9/25, the two tried to enforce it and failed as the Registrar of Companies or any other director or sheriff for Zimbabwe was supposed to sign the new CR6 to enable the two to be reinstated as directors.
“After having failed to execute the said order under HCBC 9/25, it meant that the remaining directors on the CR6 were Xing Ming Chang, Li Song and Ke Wang.”
According to Yan, Marconani and Hughes made a court application, HCBC 9/25 to amend the court order, but withdrew the application after it flopped.
He said this meant tha the order for HCBC 9/25 could not be enforced and thus directorship of the mine remained unchanged.
“The two also filed HCBC 659/25 being an urgent application for execution pending appeal but the application was dismissed,” Yan said.
“This, therefore, meant that the directors remained as Xing Ming Chang, Li Song and Ke Wang.”
He said the duo changed the directors and “unlawfully removed legally appointed three directors” ignoring a pending court case dealing with the issue of shareholding of the company.
Yan said Marconati and Hughes had no lawful authority to elbow out the DGL 5 directors.