News / Local
3 Zimra officers involved in 'well-thought-out' fuel fraud arrested
29 Sep 2023 at 01:33hrs | Views
Three Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) employees stationed at Chirundu Border Post have been arrested on fraud charges, while another is on the run, accused of conspiring to misrepresent the passage of two 40,000-liter fuel tanks through their station and evading approximately US$30,000 in taxes.
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) confirmed the arrest of Shepherd Mayeka (40), Honest Chikorese (36), and Simbarashe Chingondo (29), and revealed that Agreement Zhira had fled to Zambia.
Chingondo is facing Obstruction of Justice charges for tipping off Mayeka that ZACC officers were looking for him and urging him to escape across the Zimbabwean border into Zambia.
According to the charge sheet, the three employees assisted Elima Fuels in diverting 80,000 liters of fuel intended for Zambia. The fuel was originally imported through Forbes Border Post, with two 40,000-liter tanks being diverted to Harare's Waterfalls area over two days.
The charges state that on August 20, 2023, Elima Fuels imported 40,000 liters of unleaded petrol from Mozambique, clearing it through Forbes Border Post in Mutare. The consignment was declared as "removal in transit" (RIT) destined for Zambia and was loaded onto a truck bearing registration number ADZ 8991 with trailer registration number AFJ 1684, intended for Lusaka, Zambia.
However, the truck driver colluded with a sealing officer at ZIMRA Forbes Border Post. Instead of attaching the master seal on the truck for tracking by ZIMRA's Electronic Cargo Tracking system control room in Harare, they placed it on another vehicle, which proceeded to Chirundu Border Post in an attempt to avoid detection.
The truck diverged from the intended route and went to a service station in Waterfalls, Harare, without reaching Chirundu. At Chirundu, they conspired with the accused ZIMRA employee, who misrepresented that he had removed the master seal from the consignment on the actual truck. He signed the bill of entry to endorse this action.
Mayeka then colluded with Chikorese and Zhira to enter false information into the ZIMRA ASYCUDA system, claiming they had conducted a Physical Examination on the truck. Zhira issued a road report for the truck, despite knowing that it had never been at the border.
A ZACC team later raided Elima Fuels in Waterfalls, Harare, on August 22 and recovered one of the diverted trucks. The same operation on August 21 led to the recovery of the second truck.
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) confirmed the arrest of Shepherd Mayeka (40), Honest Chikorese (36), and Simbarashe Chingondo (29), and revealed that Agreement Zhira had fled to Zambia.
Chingondo is facing Obstruction of Justice charges for tipping off Mayeka that ZACC officers were looking for him and urging him to escape across the Zimbabwean border into Zambia.
According to the charge sheet, the three employees assisted Elima Fuels in diverting 80,000 liters of fuel intended for Zambia. The fuel was originally imported through Forbes Border Post, with two 40,000-liter tanks being diverted to Harare's Waterfalls area over two days.
However, the truck driver colluded with a sealing officer at ZIMRA Forbes Border Post. Instead of attaching the master seal on the truck for tracking by ZIMRA's Electronic Cargo Tracking system control room in Harare, they placed it on another vehicle, which proceeded to Chirundu Border Post in an attempt to avoid detection.
The truck diverged from the intended route and went to a service station in Waterfalls, Harare, without reaching Chirundu. At Chirundu, they conspired with the accused ZIMRA employee, who misrepresented that he had removed the master seal from the consignment on the actual truck. He signed the bill of entry to endorse this action.
Mayeka then colluded with Chikorese and Zhira to enter false information into the ZIMRA ASYCUDA system, claiming they had conducted a Physical Examination on the truck. Zhira issued a road report for the truck, despite knowing that it had never been at the border.
A ZACC team later raided Elima Fuels in Waterfalls, Harare, on August 22 and recovered one of the diverted trucks. The same operation on August 21 led to the recovery of the second truck.
Source - NewZimbabwe
