The car dealer, Kelvin Kudzaishe Makuyana, appeared in court yesterday after he was arrested at the weekend.

He is being accused of defrauding Harare businessman Macmillian Chiweshe who lost R220 000 in the botched deal.

Makuyana was released on US$250 bail and was ordered to report once a fortnight at CID CCD.

Allegations are that in May last year, Chiweshe contacted Makuyana and advised him that he wanted to buy a  VolksWagen 7 Model with a value of R220 000 for his wife.

Makuyana responded to Chiweshe’s request and advised him that he had the capacity to import the vehicle.

On May 8, Chiweshe agreed to the transaction and, on the same day, Makuyana allegedly supplied an invoice for the car and a South African First National Bank account number 63034487298 where Chiweshe would make the payment.

Chiweshe transferred the full amount and sent a proof of payment to Makuyana who told him to wait for some weeks before the car would reach Beitbridge Border Post for duty processing and payment.

However, after weeks passed, the vehicle did not arrive at Beitbridge Border Post as Makuyana had promised.

The car dealer became evasive and avoided any meeting with Chiweshe while also making a number of false promises.

He then stopped responding to Chiweshe’s calls.

Makuyana’s questionable conduct prompted Chiweshe to file a police report and nothing was recovered.@hmetro