Source: Pair convicted of US$85k fraud | The Herald
Senior Court Reporter
TAURAI Euginia Mushanyu and Charles Kensington Kalasawo of Harare, were yesterday convicted of duping First Tower (Pvt) Limited of US$85 000 in motorbike importation deal sometime in 2018.
First Tower is involved in mining, farming and commodity broking.
Mushanyu and Kalasawo were convicted by Harare regional magistrate Mr Francis Mapfumo after a full trial.
The State led by Mr Ephraim Zinyandu had it that sometime in July 2018, Mushanyu met directors of First Tower including Mr Remember Ndou, who was representing the company during trial. They then agreed to enter into a deal where Mushanyu and Kalasawo would import motorbikes from South Africa.
Mushanyu then contacted Kalasawo over the deal.
On July 11, 2018, Mushanyu approached Ndou and Roy Muleya, directors at First Tower and misrepresented that she could facilitate payment of any imports which their company wanted to make from South Africa.
By then, First Tower wanted to import four Kawasaki GT 1400 motorbikes from South Africa.
Mushanyu called for a meeting where she introduced Kalasawo as her uncle whom she was partnering in the deal.
They promised to make the payment in South Africa and in turn, First Tower would transfer the equivalent of the amount in US dollars.
On July 12, 2018, Ndou transferred US$78 223.20 from First Tower (Pvt) Limited’s CBZ Bank account into Mushanyu’s Barclays Bank account and US$7 703.80 into Kalasawo’s ZB Bank account.
Mushanyu and Kalasawo were supposed to transfer R800 000 into Roy Muleya’s FNB Bank account on or before July 16, 2018.
Muleya made several attempts to enquire from Kalasawo about their money, but all his efforts were futile.
Kalasawo would at times send Muleya fake Swift codes, purporting to have sent the money.
On July 25, 2018, the two deposited R95 500 into Muleya’s FNB Bank account before he went on to lodge a complaint with police the following day. Mr Zinyandu said on August 17, 2018, another deposit of R99 000 was made into Muleya’s account.
The company lost US$85 000 and R194 500 was recovered. Mushanyu and Kalasawo were remanded in custody to Friday for sentencing.
