Prosper Dembedza Herald Correspondent
The investigating officer in the case of four Premier Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS) bosses who are facing allegations of stealing US$702 386.80 from the company in a botched gold deal, has equated their alleged crime to an act of terrorism.
Mr Erick Chacha, an officer with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), said this during cross-examination on why he was opposed to the accused being granted bail.
Farai Muchena (54), the chief executive officer, Victor Chaipa (39), the group strategy and performance executive, Cosmas Mukwesha (50), the group secretary and Polite Mugwagwa (41), the performance manager, are all employed by Premier Service Holding Company and are facing theft charges.
“I equate what they did as a terrorist attack to the country,” said Mr Chacha.
He further submitted that the suspects are likely to flee if granted bail, despite having immovable properties and families in the country.
“We have facts against the accused persons and what they did has a negative impact on our beloved country,” said Mr Chacha.
Harare regional magistrate Mr Stanford Mambanje deferred the matter to today for ruling.
The court heard that sometime in 2020, the PSMAS board, with the objective of generating the much-needed foreign currency for the procurement of pharmaceutical drugs and other related medical equipment, passed a resolution to the effect that its management ventures into buying and selling gold.
It was further resolved that staff members from its procurement department were to act as buyers and agents for buying the gold on behalf of the organisation. Further, it is alleged that PSMAS had other investment projects involving cannabis growing and a micro-finance business.
On February 18, 2021, PSMAS, acting on the board resolution, handed over the projects of gold buying, cannabis growing and micro-finance business to Premier Service Holding Company to enable them to focus on their core business of health insurance.
On July 13, 2021, Muchena allegedly sent a memo to the complainant’s principal officer requesting funding for the gold project, which had been taken over from PSMAS.
It is the State’s case that the funding request amounted to US$237 794, with US$108 674 as pre-trading funding.
Furthermore, Muchena advised PSMAS about the formation of a company called Claydust, solely for the purpose of buying and selling of gold to Fidelity Printers and Refiners.
In response, the complainant disposed of its ZB Bank shares totalling to 65 9643 valued at US$38 000 solely for the funding of the gold project.
Thereafter, and with the intention of stealing money from the complainant, the accused persons, acting in consent, allegedly diverted from the initially agreed position of using the complainant’s procurement team in buying the gold on behalf of the Society.
The court heard that instead, the accused persons engaged 18 private agencies unknown to the PSMAS for gold buying.
Subsequently, from the period extending from 2019 to 2022, the PSMAS bosses are alleged to have received gold from five of the private agencies, which was then sold to Fidelity Printers by the accused persons, realising cash amounting to US$702 386.80, having misled Fidelity Printers that they needed hard cash for the purchase of drugs and pharmaceuticals.
It is alleged that the accused persons then converted the money for their own use.
During the period in question, PSMAS realised that the Society was not benefitting from the gold buying project as no drugs and pharmaceuticals were being procured for PSMAS hospitals and clinics, yet records indicated that gold was being sold.
Subsequently, PSMAS engaged an external auditor, RBM Auditors, to carry out a forensic audit covering the period in question.
An audit was then conducted and unearthed that the accused persons received and converted all the money realised from the sale of gold to Fidelity Printers totalling to US$702 386.80 for their own use.