D-DAY FOR CONVICTED BUSINESSMAN

Zvikomborero Parafini

CONVICTED businessman Francesco Marconati is expected back in court today for sentence following his pre-sentence hearing last Friday.

Marconati who was issued with a warrant of arrest last week, cancelled the warrant after proving that he was not in wilful default.

Through his lawyers, Marconati convinced presiding magistrate Donald Ndirowei that he was at the High Court at the time he was supposed to appear in the regional court for the sentence.

The businessman, was convicted last week after a full trial by regional magistrate Ndirowei after he fraudulently removed his business partner from Eagle Italian Shoes directorship.

In his ruling Ndirowei said Marconati unprocedurally removed Li Song from the company directorship and Agrilink as company secretary after he falsified documents that both she and Agrilink resigned from the company.

The State represented by Anesu Chirenje proved that Marconati had provided false information to the registrar of companies that Song had resigned while she had not.

Magistrate Ndirowei said Marconati submitted the first fake CR6 to Ecobank and First Capital Bank on October 14, 2021 to remove Song as a company director and signatory of the company accounts and replace her with his son Alessandaro Marconati.

The CR6 was never filed with the Registrar. Marconati did not follow procedures in removing the Song and there was no general meeting or shareholders meeting conducted. He also did not advise Song and didn’t follow procedure when he appointed his son Alessandro Marconati as director to replace Song in December 2022 and filed a second forged CR6 and later on he and his son fraudulently forged a third CR6 in 2023 and appointed Kutaura Bond as extra company director.

As a result, US$6,8 million was lost due to his fraud and forgery.

“The State proved that the company secretary was not informed of any of those changes and no resignation letter was submitted by Ms Song,” said Ndirowei.