A Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) employee accused of taking part in a multi-million-dollar fraud scandal has been released on US$300 bail.
Paradzai Mutasa (35), a systems developer at ZIMRA, was initially denied bail last week but reapplied under new circumstances, this time represented by lawyer Admire Rubaya. Harare regional magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa granted bail after Rubaya successfully argued that the State had agreed to bail in similar cases involving other suspects.
Mutasa is jointly charged with Shupikai Mary Nicola Marongwe (52), a ZIMRA database administrator. The pair face allegations of criminal abuse of office and, alternatively, fraud.
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Prosecutors say the two manipulated ZIMRA’s internal systems, creating fake entries in clearing agents’ prepayment accounts. This allowed the agents to avoid paying customs duties, with the proceeds allegedly shared with the accused.
Marongwe, whose job involved creating and maintaining databases, allegedly worked with Mutasa, who was responsible for developing and customising ZIMRA’s software. Investigators claim they exploited the Zimbabwe Electronic Single Window (ZESW) project, which is linked to the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) used to process imports and exports.
The alleged scam dates back to September 4, 2024, when Innocent Onega, a Ugandan consultant on the ZESW project, asked Marongwe to create a view-only account to connect ZESW and ASYCUDA. Instead, Marongwe and Mutasa reportedly created an unauthorised account “ZESWASYCUDA” that gave them broad rights to edit, delete, and update databases without oversight.
Authorities say the pair used the account to credit clearing agents’ accounts with fictitious deposits, falsely claiming that money had been paid into ZIMRA’s bank accounts. The inflated balances were then used to clear goods duty-free, resulting in losses to ZIMRA estimated at ZWL 171 186 079 (US$6.34 million) and US$37 200 in revenue. None of the funds have been recovered.
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