Chinese couple in company share swindle used fake names

were entered on the share certificate, a Harare magistrate court heard.
The couple, Zhaosheng Wu and Yan Yu, are jointly charged with Dawid Johannes Erasmus, the director of Eras Accounting and Executor Services.
The court heard that Wu used the name Wila Yu while her husband used the name Frank Yu.
Eras Accounting and Executor Services legal advisor Mr Brian Murphy, during cross-examination by prosecutor Mr Editor Mauto, told the court that he did not check the authenticity of the names as the registrar of companies did not require identity particulars during the time in question.
Earlier Erasmus conceded that a letter authorising the share transfer had some anomalies.
Asked if it didn’t occur to him that the document produced as exhibit 7 was not authentic, Mr Murphy said, “It never came to my mind”.
Erasmus denied being the mastermind of the fraud saying Wu had brought the document in question to him and he acted on it since it had some signatures.
Asked why he did not confirm with the company owners Erasmus said he had many companies in his portfolio hence it would be difficult.
Erasmus’ defence case was closed while Mr Terrence Hussein who is appearing for the couple said he intended to bring a handwriting expert from South Africa to verify signatures on the share certificate.
Allegations are that the couple agreed to buy Monomotapa Garden Furnisher (Pvt) (Ltd) belonging to the complainant Atur Fernado Pereia Dias, but got Erasmus to forge a share certificate purporting he was the director of Monomotapa Garden Furnisher.
They transferred 1 000 shares into the couple’s company, Shomet Industrial Development. The shares were valued at US$500 000.