US$1,2m GMB fraud suspects' trial kicks off

The trial of four men accused of attempting to defraud the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) of US$1.2 million through a sophisticated bank account hacking scheme has commenced at the Harare Magistrates Court.

Dennis Nhapata (40), Challenge Phiri (40), Joshua Israel and Ogbonna Simeon (54) appeared before magistrate Francis Mapfumo facing charges of attempted fraud.

The State, led by prosecutor Heather Muwokoto, called its first witness, Misheck Mupondiwa, a GMB integrity officer, who testified that he only came to know the accused persons through the alleged offence.

Mupondiwa told the court that the suspects had allegedly hacked into a GMB email account and used it to instruct CBZ Bank to transfer US$1.2 million from the parastatal's account to an account at Success Microfinance Bank.

He said bank officials later informed him that the account in question belonged to one Brian Mabuto and that US$150 000 had already been transferred from an AFC Bank account under Mabuto's name.

"The transaction was unlawful, and I was surprised since I had not authorised it," Mupondiwa told the court.

According to the State, the alleged scheme occurred on September 9 last year when the accused persons reportedly hacked the email address of a GMB accountant, Parrence Chikerema. Using the compromised email, they allegedly sent a falsified Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) application to CBZ Bank, purporting to represent the GMB and seeking to authorise the transfer.

Prosecutor Muwokoto said the accused instructed the transfer of the funds to a Success Microfinance Bank account with the intention of defrauding the GMB.

The trial continues.