Man in Court for Car Import Fraud

Munyaradzi Mashiri

Court Correspondent

A 25-year-old man has appeared in court for allegedly misappropriating nearly half of the funds entrusted to him for importing a vehicle.

Obvious Paurini was arraigned before the Harare Magistrates' Courts on charges of theft of trust property. He is set to return to court on February 24, 2025.

The complainant, Gardner Matare, director of Cablenapps Private Limited, allegedly engaged Paurini and his accomplice, Daniel Tombo—who is still at large—on November 8, 2024, to import a Nissan Caravan from Japan.

The pair instructed Matare to deposit US$7,665, the full purchase price, into Paurini's Steward Bank VISA account, which he did on the same day.

However, after receiving the funds, Paurini and Tombo reportedly paid only US$4,139 to Be Forward, Japan, and allegedly converted US$3,526 to their own use. They then falsely informed Matare that the full amount had been paid.

Matare later checked the Car Arrival Progress link and discovered that his vehicle had landed in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, but had an outstanding balance of US$3,526. 

His attempts to get the duo to settle the balance were met with excuses and delays.

As Paurini and Tombo became evasive, Matare reported the matter to the police. 

The stolen amount remains unrecovered.