Two Harare residents, Ipaishe Richman Madziwa ,22, and Willmore Nyama ,29, have appeared in court facing charges of money laundering and contravening the Exchange Control Act.
The duo is accused of importing over 2 million litres of fuel using offshore funds without approval from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Magistrate Musaiona Shotgame granted the pair US$200 bail each, and they are set to return to court on December 5.
The allegations against them stem from a raid conducted by the CID Asset Forfeiture Unit as part of "Operation Pressure Valve", a crackdown on illicit financial flows and fuel smuggling.
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Prosecutor Tendai Tapi stated that investigations revealed the accused imported approximately 2,050,000 litres of diesel and petrol valued at US$2,632,500 between January and November 2025.
However, they allegedly failed to obtain the required Exchange Control approvals from the RBZ for the foreign payments.
The transactions were reportedly executed using offshore funds of unknown origin, raising suspicions of money laundering.
During the November 13 raid at the accused's Eastlea business premises, authorities recovered US$20,950 in cash from a safe at their office.
The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges may be forthcoming as authorities continue to probe the alleged fuel trading network.
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