Fugitive ex-Zimra officer's property frozen

Former Zimbabwe Revenue Authority official, Tambudzai Yvonne Musoni, who is currently on the run, has been barred from selling or transferring her family house at Mabvazuva Estate and had US$47,500 in school fees frozen by the State, pending a civil forfeiture order.

Musoni allegedly profited by facilitating ineligible individuals to obtain civil servants' rebate letters under a motor vehicle scheme introduced in 2019, allowing them to import vehicles without paying import duty.

Several of Musoni's collaborators have been arrested and prosecuted, but she remains a fugitive. The Prosecutor-General recently secured a High Court order to freeze Musoni's assets, including US$28,625 in Watershed College's bank accounts and US$18,940 in Lusitania Primary School's accounts, earmarked for her children's school fees.

Musoni and her husband, Melusi, had acquired a property at Mabvazuva Estate for US$30,208, now valued at US$150,000. The property was later transferred to The Tamel Family Trust, likely to obscure ownership.

Investigations revealed Musoni deposited over US$36,000 into Watershed College's account and US$18,000 into Lusitania Primary School's account for her children's school fees, raising suspicions of money laundering. Zimra sought a restraining order against the disposal of these assets.

If arrested and convicted, Musoni's assets can be seized. Even without criminal proceedings, civil actions can still result in asset forfeiture if the property is proven to be acquired dishonestly.