CIO's financial scandal deepens

A trail of public funds allocated to Zimbabwe's state security agency, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), for a US$6.8 million construction project in Harare has raised serious red flags, with evidence suggesting that millions of dollars are no longer where they are supposed to be.

The project, located at Stand No. 8 Natal Road, Belgravia - also known as Stand 3218 Salisbury Township - is now at the centre of a widening investigation by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc), following allegations that money intended for construction was diverted into private investments and allegedly withdrawn for personal gain.

According to a well-connected source in the financial services sector, who spoke to The NewsHawks after the publication of its earlier exclusive report, the movement of funds points to what they described as "clear, premeditated and well-planned fraud".

"As you correctly reported in your exclusive story on Sunday, the money - US$4.5 million initially - moved from the National Social Security Authority (Nssa) to Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe, to Chigama Architectural Services and Project Management, and finally to Alpha Asset Management and Access Forex, which are conduits in the deal," the source said.

"That is the official trail. But after that, the money was withdrawn from Alpha Asset Management and Access Forex, while a paper trail was created to suggest it remained in fixed-term investments. This is clear fraud."

The source alleged that the intention from the outset was to inflate the cost of the project to nearly US$7 million, using the cloak of CIO security considerations to mask what they claimed was a scheme to siphon off excess funds.

"In reality, the project would not even exceed US$3 million," the source added. "The rest was meant to be spun through investments or distributed as proceeds of corruption. This is a well-orchestrated scheme, far worse than initially thought."

The project is being financed using pensioners' funds from Nssa, a statutory pension fund that has itself been under scrutiny for governance and investment decisions in recent years. Nssa was reportedly pressured by the CIO's investment arm, Terrestrial Holdings, to provide a US$6.78 million loan to fund the construction.

On April 1, 2025 - coincidentally Fool's Day - Nssa disbursed an initial US$4.5 million tranche through Stanbic Bank into an account held by Chigama Architectural Services and Project Management. The firm is registered in both Zimbabwe and Namibia and is owned by a Zimbabwean medical doctor and a Namibian architect.

Investigations by Zacc indicate that, instead of applying the funds to construction, Chigama Architectural Services diverted the money on the same day into fixed-term investment products. These included a US$2.06 million placement with Alpha Asset Management and a US$500 000 investment with Access Forex.

Investigators now allege that the funds were subsequently withdrawn and not used for construction, but for personal purposes by what one source described as "architects of corruption".

The project itself is being overseen by Terrestrial Holdings, a CIO investment vehicle, while A.M. Machado (Pvt) Ltd Building Contractors were contracted to carry out the construction works.

Directors of both Terrestrial Holdings and Chigama Architectural Services are now under investigation by Zacc. The investigating officer in the case is identified as Tafadzwa Chakavarika.

Site inspections conducted as part of the probe have found that while the existing structure at the Natal Road property has been demolished, no construction is currently underway - despite the release of millions of dollars for the project.

Compounding the concerns, the property is reportedly still registered under Aldershot Enterprises (Private) Limited, which is owned by Terrestrial Holdings and classified under the Department of the Office of the President and Cabinet, the administrative home of the CIO.

Zacc has not yet publicly detailed the scope or timeline of its investigation, but the case has intensified scrutiny over the use of public and pension funds, particularly in projects linked to security institutions shielded by secrecy.

As investigations continue, the scandal adds to growing concerns about accountability, transparency and the protection of pensioners' savings in high-risk, politically connected projects.