FIRM SUFFERS $53M HIT

Zvikomborero Parafini

STOCKBROKING firm, Morgan and Co, was allegedly duped of more than $53 million by its former finance manager.

He is alleged to have raised acquisitions and made payments to fake accounts.

Kudakwashe Vukomba (30) was not asked to plead when he appeared before Harare magistrate Dennis Mangosi charged with fraud.

He was granted $500 000 bail and ordered to surrender his travel documents and not to interfere with State witnesses.

Morgan & Co specialises in stockbroking and has the mandate to pay remittances to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, ZIMDEF, NSSA and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe.

Vukomba resigned from the company on January 31.

The State said in February, Morgan and Co received an e-mail from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe informing it that it was in arrears.

This prompted the company to send proof of payments to the Commission showing that it had been paying religiously and couldn’t be in arrears.

The commission disowned the proof of payments stating that the ZB Bank account number on the POP did not belong to it.

This prompted Morgan and Co to conduct internal investigations.

It was discovered that the ZB account numbers on all the “proof of payments” did not belong to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe.

The account numbers belonged to Vukomba, Theophilus Mapfurira, Rutendo Choruwa and Prince Mupangavanhu.

The company then reported the matter to the police.

Initial investigations revealed that between February 28 and November 25, 2022, Vukomba raised requisition invoices claiming he wanted to make payments to ZIMRA, NSSA, ZIMDEF and the Security Exchange Commission.

He would allegedly take the invoices for signing by the authorised signatories.

The State said Vukomba would then transfer the money into his personal and friends’ bank accounts.

Vukomba allegedly transferred $13 080 430 into his ZB Bank account, $10 641 858. 83 into Mupangavanhu’s ZB account, $26 059 918.41 into Choruwa’s ZB account and $1 889 979 into Mapfurira’s ZB account.

The company lost $53 129 574 and nothing was recovered.