Michael Mashiri
A Harare woman and her son have been taken to court accused of defrauding more US$12 000.
Annah Nyaude, 63, and Wersley Nyaude, 37, of Old Mabvuku, appeared before magistrate Dennis Mangosi facing fraud charges.
The State, through prosecutor Rufaro Chonzi, alleges that sometime in August 2023, the complainant was approached by Annah and Wersley who claimed that they wanted US$4 000 to top-up chemicals for the purposes of cleaning their black money.
It is alleged that the two lied to the complainant that they had many boxes of black money, which they wanted to clean on behalf of many people, including high-ranking government officials.
They made the complainant believe that if she gave them the money they were going to pay her threefold.
The two showed the complainant notes which were stained and obscured by black dye amounting to about US$2 million, claiming that they wanted to buy powder to clean the notes.
The complainant was not sure if the two were going to come back to Zimbabwe and she suggested to accompany them to make sure they purchased the required powder and process the money as they were alleging.
It is alleged that the complainant, together with Anna and Wersley, went to South Africa and when they arrived, they connected with two people, Tau and Steve.
Tau and Steve made a demonstration of 3 x 100 notes of how the money was cleaned.
It is alleged that Anna told the complainant that the two men were going to Botswana first and then come to Zimbabwe where the cleaning process was to be done.
As a result the accused were paid US$1 600 and US$4 500 for air tickets and purchase of the chemicals.
On September 2, 2023, the complainant, Anna and Wersley went to South Africa and they contacted two other guys whom they introduced to the complainant as Abraham and Mohammed.
While in South Africa, Anna told the complainant that she was to pay R20 000 to facilitate their travel to Zimbabwe to clean the money or else she was going to lose the money she had already paid.
The complainant gave Anna the R20 000 on the cpretext that she was to get the money back after the cleaning process.
The complainant, Anna and Wersley took different flights to Zimbabwe and on arrival, she saw text messages from Anna telling her that their partners were at the Zimbabwean border and were having issues with customs as their equipment was supposed to pay US$5 000 duty and they were short of US$2 700.
It is alleged that the complainant and her brother Bernard Chuma drove to Beitbridge but could not locate them.
They waited for 11 hours and it is suspected they were not even at the border but drove from another area like Johannesburg.
The guys later came to where complainant was parked and were given the US$2 700.
They were told that the equipment was cleared and to travel with Abraham in her car while Mohammed and the other guy were to use the other car to bring the cleaning equipment to Harare.
While in Harare, Anna further demanded US$330 as accommodation for her partners at Cresta Lodge during the period they would be cleaning the money.
The following day, the complainant tried to call Anna but failed to get hold of her.
It is alleged that the complainant went to Cresta Lodge to check for them and was told they had booked out of the hotel.
The complainant later on learnt that they had left Zimbabwe and Anna was further asking US$1 700 to ensure the final cleaning.
The complainant concluded that it was a scam and the two accused and their accomplices wanted to defraud her.
As a result, the complainant was defrauded of US$12 800 and nothing was recovered.
Anna and Wersley were ordered to appear in January 8 for bail application.
Philemon JambayaZim Now EditorThe notion that football is a social activity has kept Zimbabwe lagging behind the rest of the serious football world. Football is the pinnacle of global sporting busin..
ZimbabwePhilemon JambayaZim Now EditorThe recent decision by the Zimbabwe Football Association Normalisation Committee to deny resources to the Under 17 girls team has sparked widespread disappointment and ..
ZimbabweZimNow WriterPresident Emmerson Mnangagwa has extended the term of General Phillip Valerio Sibanda as Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces by a year, despite Sibanda reaching retirement age.This..
Zimbabwe
Leave Comments