Online Reporter
Zvikomborero Parafini
A CHINESE couple has been remanded in custody after being implicated in a fraud case involving a mine.
Niu Shihao and Wang Runzhi were not asked to plead when they appeared before Harare magistrate Ruth Moyo.
Prosecutors opposed bail arguing that the two have other pending cases, of a similar nature, which is proof that they have the propensity to commit similar crimes.
The complainant is Kimsum Mining Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd, which is being represented by one of its directors, Xiang Shuangde.
The company is into mining in the Mudzi District at Masarakufa Block of Mines.
Shihao is employed by the company as a general hand.
The court heard that on February 27, 2023, Xiang Shuangde and Wu Can formed Kimsum Mining Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd.
The two assumed positions of Directors and Shareholders and the company started mining in Mudzi.
Shihao was employed by the company as a general hand whose duties, among others, were to organise all the company production and operational activities.
He and his girlfriend Runzhi and Shuangde were staying at the same address.
In December 2023, they allegedly connived to take all the company documents in the absence of Shuangde, who was in China at the time, and went to the Company Registry Office and fraudulently added Shihao as the third director.
The couple connived and registered their company, Newrgy Mining (Pvt) Ltd with Runzhi coming in as a director.
Armed with the fraudulent documents, the couple then approached Mashonaland East Provincial Mines Office and fraudulently applied for the transfer of Kimsum Mining Zimbabwe mining rights to Newrgy Mining.
The Mashonaland East Provincial Mines Office cancelled the mining certificate for Kimsum Mining Zimbabwe and transferred the rights to Newrgy Mining.
Shuangde later noted the duo’s fraudulent activities and lodged a complaint, leading to their arrest.
