RioZim in eye of financial misconduct, fraud storm

Mining giant RioZim Limited is at the centre of a deepening scandal as allegations of financial misconduct, asset stripping, and systematic fraud continue to surface. According to sources familiar with internal operations, the company is facing accusations of illicit fund diversion, non-payment of employee salaries, and the misappropriation of statutory and pension contributions-claims that have pushed hundreds of workers into economic despair.

The explosive allegations have been laid out in High Court papers filed by RioZim workers who are now seeking to place the company under corporate rescue. Employees argue that the move is necessary to halt the company's financial decay and protect remaining assets from what they describe as predatory conduct by management. Sources say some workers have already been evicted from their homes due to unpaid salaries, while others are struggling to access healthcare because the company has not remitted their medical aid deductions to service providers.

One anonymous employee described the atmosphere at RioZim as one of desperation and betrayal, noting that many staff members can no longer afford food, rent, or school fees. The source said management had turned a deaf ear to repeated pleas for relief and accused company directors of prioritising personal enrichment at the expense of workers' livelihoods.

According to the same sources, the company's official bank accounts have reportedly been frozen by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), prompting executives to conduct business through undeclared accounts to avoid tax obligations. Funds generated from mining operations, it is alleged, are being siphoned away from official channels and redirected to shelf companies and external entities.

In one case, RioZim is said to have sold coal reserves in Sengwa, Gokwe, despite prior government reclamation of the land due to inactivity. The full proceeds of the transaction were allegedly withheld from the company's records. Another transaction involving the sale of One Step Mine for US$6.3 million is believed to have been misrepresented in official declarations, with the true value concealed. The same pattern is said to have occurred with the sale of Dalny Mine and Palatial, which are now reportedly being operated privately by directors who acquired the assets at suspiciously low valuations.

The company is also accused of entering into fraudulent, backdated tribute agreements with tributors, from which the revenue is alleged to have been siphoned without traceable deposits into company accounts. With no functional operating bank accounts, the lack of transparency has further complicated efforts to track the financial activities of the firm.

Calls for urgent government intervention are growing louder, with workers and whistleblowers urging authorities to investigate what they describe as wholesale looting and exploitation. A senior official close to the situation said the scale of alleged abuse amounts to theft from both the company and the State, demanding that law enforcement and regulatory agencies act decisively.

Efforts to obtain comment from RioZim's Group Chief Executive Officer Swami Rajgopal were unsuccessful at the time of publication.

Last month's High Court application filed by workers seeking corporate rescue is seen as a desperate bid to save what remains of the company. With the mining sector already under pressure from fluctuating commodity prices, regulatory uncertainty, and foreign currency shortages, the unfolding crisis at RioZim threatens to erode what little confidence remains in Zimbabwe's investment climate.

As the matter awaits court determination, the public and industry observers are watching closely to see whether authorities will take decisive action or allow yet another high-profile corporate collapse to unfold unchecked.