Tetrad Directors face arrest over fraud, money...

Tetrad Directors face arrest over fraud, money laundering

Audrey Galawu

Tetrad Investment Bank (TIB) directors and Tetrad Creditors Group Trust (TCGT) are under police investigation for fraud and money laundering.

This comes after the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a warrant of search and seizure against TIB management and directors in a case of fraud and money laundering.

The matter involves money laundering as defined in Section 8 (1)(a)(b) of the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act (Chapter 9:24) and fraud under Section 36 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (Chapter 9:24).

The accused are the bank and its directors, Harry John Orphanides, Misheck Mpiwa Chiwayo, John Alexander Brydone Graham, Michael Phillip Seton Gaisford, Andre Lourenco Vermaak and Appolinaire Ndorukwigira.

TCGT is accused of refusing an inspection of proxies who represent shareholders’ interests whom they claim to have. Directors reportedly want to use the proxies to vote and pass resolutions at an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting to entrench themselves.

Minority shareholders have also been growing impatient due to lack of return on investment for eight years.

Shareholders have not yet received audited financial accounts for the past three years. The last financials they received were reportedly qualified statements for 2018 which only came in 2022.

This has further fueled a shareholders’ revolt at the bank whose directors are battling with the crisis.

Meanwhile, one of the accused Appolinaire Ndorukwigira, a Harare-based Burundian economist, stormed out of a preparatory meeting and subsequently resigned a few days ago, throwing the financial institution into chaos.