Gono loses property

Gideon Gono, the former governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, has reportedly lost ownership of Valley Lodge, a property in Manicaland province, to an estate agent who allegedly manipulated the registration in his name.

Clark Clever and Beverly Aisha Makoni, the accused individuals, were brought before Harare magistrate Dennis Mangosi, where they were granted bail of US$300 each.

The complainant in the case is Galwex Investments (Pvt) Ltd, represented by George Mashonganyika, which serves as the holding company for Lizack Holdings (Pvt) Ltd and Valley Lodge (Pvt) Ltd.

The alleged fraudulent activity dates back to October 30, 2009, when Costick Investments (Pvt) Ltd purportedly sold all its shares in Lizack and Valley Lodge to Galwex Investments (Pvt) Ltd.

In 2017, Gono enlisted Ark Properties, a company wholly owned by Clever and Makoni, to manage Valley Lodge (Pvt) Ltd as estate agents.

However, in August 2017, the accused individuals are said to have orchestrated a scheme to deceive Gono by changing the directorship of Valley Lodge (Private) Ltd without his knowledge.

The accusation states that on August 10, 2017, Clever submitted a fraudulent C14 form to the Registrar of Companies, falsely declaring himself and his wife Beverly as the sole directors of Valley Lodge (Pvt) Ltd.

Further investigations revealed that the accused individuals presented a deceitful CR14 form at ZB Bank Holdings, designating themselves as signatories for Valley Lodge, subsequently making unauthorized withdrawals for personal use.

Since assuming control of the company through fraudulent means in 2017, the accused parties allegedly claimed that Valley Lodge was experiencing financial losses.

In response, Galwex Investments initiated an internal audit, uncovering the fraudulent takeover of the lodge by Clever and Makoni.