Top (RBZ) executives on US$780,000 fraud charges , bailed but remain in detention

THREE top Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) executives accused of $780,000 fraud, were last week granted bail despite opposition from prosecutors who say they were a flight risk.

However, they all remained in custody after the State invoked a legal provision that suspends bail pending appeal.

Fidelity Printers and Refiners chief operating officer, Godknows Hofisi, 41, finance director, Tinashe Wellington Mbengegwi, 35, and finance manager, Ronald Madhara, 47 were granted $1,000 bail each by Harare magistrate Vakai Chikwekwe.

All three are accused of defrauding the company – a currency printing and gold buying unit of the country’s central bank – along with accomplice James Munemo, 34, who owns a company called Swisspack Enterprises Private Limited.

Magistrate Chikwekwe rejected the State’s opposition to bail saying the fact that the accused were senior executives does not necessarily mean that they would interact with witnesses.

He ordered all four to report at CID fraud once a week and to surrender their passports to the clerk of court. They were also ordered not to interfere with witnesses.

However, prosecutors invoked section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act Section 121 which gives the State the powers to provisionally revoke bail granted by magistrates.

As a result all the four accused were remanded in custody to July 10.

According to the State, the three RBZ executives authorised deposits totalling $780,000 into Munemo’s company, Swisspack, drawing the money from Fidelity printers and refinery’s accounts. They allegedly diverted the money to personal use.

The payments were purportedly for gold deliveries when, in actual fact, no such gold deliveries were made o Fidelity printers. According to the state, there were no supporting documents of the said gold deliveries.

Prosecutors say Munemo would withdraw the money each time a deposit was made.

On June 4 this year, an internal auditor visited Fidelity printers and unearthed the fraud resulting in a police report being made.source-newzimbabwe