Rushwaya granted bail in US$1m fraud case against...

Rushwaya granted bail in US$1m fraud case against Indian businessman

Michael Mashiri

Court Reporter

Zimbabwe Miners Federation president Henrietta Rushwaya has been granted US$500 bail when she appeared in court facing allegations of selling a gold mine with an expired Special Grant to an Indian businessman.

Rushwaya who was arrested this Tuesday over then undisclosed allegations, stands accused of Dr Ashok Jain of US$1 million through an expired mining claim.

Rushwaya put in a bail application today (Wednesday) morning when she appeared before Stanford Mambanje at Harare Magistrates Court.

The matter was deferred to the afternoon when Public Prosecutor Lancelot Mutsokoti and the defense were to submit their verbal submissions at 14:15 but it was stood down to after 16:00hrs.

In its outline, the State alleges that after connecting in April 2021, Rushwaya received US$35 000 from Jain on October 4, 2021 in New Delhi, India in order to help the complainant set up business in Zimbabwe with interests in liquor distribution and an ethanol plant.

It is further alleged that Rushwaya in the same month, then invited Jain and his son to Zimbabwe for a business meeting. During the visit she offered the complainant a gold mine for sale in Mashonaland Central.

Rushwaya allegedly took the Jains to Umpfurudzi and showed them a claim purportedly rich in gold ore and sitting on 126 hectares and sold it to them at a price of US$350 000 knowing that the Special grant had expired in May 2021.

Rushwaya went on to receive the US$350 000 purchase fee and operational capital amounting to US$615 000 through various Rushwaya transactions into different accounts from December 2021 to May 2022.

Last November Rushwaya was convicted of attempting to smuggle 6kg of gold worth over US$333 000 to Dubai in 2020 and given a suspended 18-month jail term wholly suspended for three years on condition she does not commit a similar offence within the stipulated time. She was also fined US$5000.

Rushwaya had earlier been found not guilty in a related case where she was charged with attempting to bribe an airport official to allow her to smuggle out the gold that she was caught with.