Online Reporter
Yeukai Karengezeka-Chisepo
Court Correspondent
TWO Harare businessmen appeared in court yesterday, accused of operating an illegal Hawala-style money transfer scheme involving over US$500 000 used to import cellphones and accessories from Dubai without authorisation from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.
Blessing Chinhanga and Taurai Chivanga separately appeared before Harare regional magistrate Mrs Jesse Kufa facing charges of contravening the Exchange Control Act.
The pair was represented by Mr Owen Safuri and were granted US$500 bail each.
The State, represented by prosecutor Mr Rufaro Chonzi, alleges that detectives from the CID Asset Forfeiture Unit, who were conducting Operation Iron Net, targeting illicit cash transactions, received information on May 7 that the two accused persons were facilitating foreign payments outside the formal banking system.
According to the State, detectives first arrested Chinhanga at Shop IC15, ZimPost Mall in Harare, after allegedly discovering that he was conducting unauthorised foreign payments through a Hawala system. Police allegedly recovered US$4 000 cash from him.
It is alleged that Chinhanga collected cash from clients with the intention to import cellphones and accessories from Dubai, before arranging payments outside Zimbabwe without RBZ approval.
The total value involved in the transaction is said to be US$270 000.
In a related matter, detectives also arrested Chivanga at Shop 103, Century Mall, Harare, on allegations of conducting similar illegal foreign currency transactions.
The State alleges that police recovered US$31 950 cash and several cellphones from him.
Chivanga allegedly collected cash from clients seeking to import cellphones and accessories from Dubai and facilitated payments outside Zimbabwe through the same system.
The total value involved in his case is US$250 000, while cash and goods worth approximately US$53 000 were reportedly recovered.
