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Fuel importer in court over Zinara receipts forgery
03 Oct 2024 at 08:50hrs | Views
A Harare man, Pedzisai Mudiwa (34), appeared in court yesterday facing fraud charges after allegedly forging Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) receipts, leading to a loss of US$36,100 for the State in a dual import scheme.
Mudiwa, who resides in Hatfield, was remanded out of custody by Harare magistrate Dennis Mangosi and is scheduled to reappear in court on November 4.
According to prosecutor Rufaro Chonzi, the alleged fraudulent activities took place in 2022 when Mudiwa sought to import fuel through the Forbes Border Post in Mutare. Instead of following the correct procedures, he allegedly devised a scheme to defraud Zinara.
The State claims Mudiwa collaborated with Tinapan Investments (Pvt) Ltd, as well as Tinashe and Panashe Jongwe, to forge or generate fake receipts indicating that they had paid the 6% Zinara road levy. With these fabricated receipts in hand, they submitted them to the Ministry of Energy and Power Development to secure fuel import permits.
As a result of this deception, Mudiwa and his accomplices obtained the necessary permits and imported fuel without paying the required US$36,100 in Zinara road levies.
Chonzi further explained that the Energy and Power Development ministry issued support letters to Mudiwa based on the false representations, which facilitated his application for the fuel import permit from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
However, an investigation was launched after authorities received information from a source indicating that Mudiwa was using fake Zinara receipts for his fuel import permits. Upon further inquiry, the forged Zinara receipts were recovered, and checks with Zinara confirmed that the documents were not registered in their system.
The court learned that the fraudulent documents did not belong to the roads authority, leading to the conclusion that Zinara had suffered a financial loss of US$36,100 due to Mudiwa's actions.
The second count against Mudiwa involves VIFOT Investment (Pvt) Ltd, a licensed Zimbabwean entity authorized to import fuel for 2022. It is alleged that Mudiwa used forged documents to apply for a fuel permit with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, importing 19 consignments through the Forbes Border under VIFOT's name without the company's knowledge or consent.
Mudiwa, who resides in Hatfield, was remanded out of custody by Harare magistrate Dennis Mangosi and is scheduled to reappear in court on November 4.
According to prosecutor Rufaro Chonzi, the alleged fraudulent activities took place in 2022 when Mudiwa sought to import fuel through the Forbes Border Post in Mutare. Instead of following the correct procedures, he allegedly devised a scheme to defraud Zinara.
The State claims Mudiwa collaborated with Tinapan Investments (Pvt) Ltd, as well as Tinashe and Panashe Jongwe, to forge or generate fake receipts indicating that they had paid the 6% Zinara road levy. With these fabricated receipts in hand, they submitted them to the Ministry of Energy and Power Development to secure fuel import permits.
Chonzi further explained that the Energy and Power Development ministry issued support letters to Mudiwa based on the false representations, which facilitated his application for the fuel import permit from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
However, an investigation was launched after authorities received information from a source indicating that Mudiwa was using fake Zinara receipts for his fuel import permits. Upon further inquiry, the forged Zinara receipts were recovered, and checks with Zinara confirmed that the documents were not registered in their system.
The court learned that the fraudulent documents did not belong to the roads authority, leading to the conclusion that Zinara had suffered a financial loss of US$36,100 due to Mudiwa's actions.
The second count against Mudiwa involves VIFOT Investment (Pvt) Ltd, a licensed Zimbabwean entity authorized to import fuel for 2022. It is alleged that Mudiwa used forged documents to apply for a fuel permit with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, importing 19 consignments through the Forbes Border under VIFOT's name without the company's knowledge or consent.
Source - newsday
