3 TelOne technicians up for R1,5m fraud

yesterday appeared before Harare magistrate Ms Anita Tshuma charged with fraud.
They were not asked to plead to the charge and were remanded to February 6 for routine remand on US$100 bail each.
Ms Nyasha Muzuva of Mushangwe and Associates is representing them.
Their accomplices, Collins Mupimbo, Norbert Mberi, Givemore Tembo and brothers Tonderai, Godwin and Goodman Musekiwa have since appeared before the same courts facing similar charge.
Appearing for the State, Mr David Magwegwe alleged that on December 19 last year the gang hatched a plan to defraud Liquid Telecommunications Operations Pvt Ltd.
The company holds an account with TN bank.
Mupimbo, Mberi, Tembo and the Musekiwa brothers were “directors” of three unregistered companies namely Gulls Oils Ltd, Multi trading company and Faithstel Investments respectively. The gang, it is alleged made a fake invoice in the name of Liquid Telecommunications, South Africa branch, purporting that their companies had supplied communication system appliances to Liquid Telecommunications, Zimbabwe branch valued at R1 597 797.
It is further alleged they used the same invoice to make fraudulent RTGS transfers from the company’s TN bank account into their companies. They forged the company’s letterhead and forwarded it to TN bank manager as authority to transfer the said amount.
The court heard that Nyakunhuwa, Mutodzaniswa and Marimbe diverted Liquid Telecommunications calls to their cellphones and would answer the company’s calls pretending to be employees of Liquid telecommunications.
It is the State’s case that TN bank made calls to the company so as to verify the authenticity of the RTGS transfers and the calls were picked by the accused persons who verified the transfer.
Sometime during the same month, Liquid Telecommunications received information that TN bank was holding RTGS forms pending payment to the three companies.
Authorities from the company approached the bank and discovered the fake RTGS forms, which had been made by the gang and subsequently all transfers were stopped and the account was frozen, it is alleged. A police report was made on December 22 and investigations were carried out at Econet and the three technicians were linked to the offence through their cellphone lines they were using.