Sidumisile Mabena
B-Metro Reporter
SIXTEEN vehicles and US$37 000 believed to be proceeds of a fake civil servants’ rebate scam have been forfeited to the State after the High Court cracked down on a former ZIMRA officer’s scheme.
Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission spokesperson Simiso Mlevu confirmed the seizure, saying the assets were linked to customs fraud that milked the rebate system dry while Treasury bled.
“The High Court has ordered the forfeiture of 16 vehicles and US$37 000 linked to customs fraud orchestrated by a former ZIMRA officer,” said Mlevu.
Judges Chikowero and Kwenda partially granted a civil forfeiture order in terms of the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act following an application by the State.
At the centre of the scandal is Tambudzai Yvonne Musoni, a former ZIMRA Office Administration Assistant, who the court found had generated and confirmed a string of fake rebate letters between January 2022 and March 2023.
The bogus letters were used to import vehicles without paying duty, allowing beneficiaries to drive in duty-free cars while the country lost revenue.
“The court found that the rebate letters were not genuine and were used to unlawfully facilitate the importation of vehicles without payment of customs duty,” said Mlevu.
ZACC swooped after sniffing corruption in the rebate system and launched investigations that exposed how the fake paperwork was being pushed through as legitimate.
The commission then referred the matter for civil forfeiture, targeting assets suspected to be proceeds of crime rather than waiting for the slow grind of criminal trials.
Civil forfeiture allows the State to seize property linked to corruption even before a criminal conviction, a tool ZACC says is crucial in choking corruption networks.
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