Lawyer swindles bank of US$70 000

after writing a fake instruction letter yesterday appeared in court charged with fraud.
Debra Shirichena (27) was not asked to plead when she appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Don Ndirowei who remanded her out of custody to May 10 this year on US$200 bail.
He also ordered her to report once every Friday at CID Fraud and to continue residing at her given address.
The complainant in the matter is Standard Chartered Bank Zimbabwe represented by its head of fraud and risk department Mr Mathew Ginand.
Shirichena is a former director and company secretary of Buffalo Minerals Zimbabwe based in Gweru and is also a lawyer.
Buffalo Minerals Zimbabwe and Shiri-chena hold accounts with Standard Chartered Bank in Gweru.
Prosecutor Molly Mutamangira alleges that in March 2011 Shirichena hatched a plan to swindle the company’s account and opened an email in the name Christian Allan Obehozlei one of the directors of the company. She allegedly instructed the bank’s branch manager, Zivanai Usai to transfer US$70 000 from the company account into hers using the fictitious email address.
Acting on the email, Usai on March 9 processed the transfer of the US$70 000 from Buffalo Minerals account into Shiri-chena’s account.
On the same day, it is alleged, Shirichena withdrew US$2 000 from her account and a US$4 000 withdrawal the following day. She also made a transfer of US$25 000 to a ZB Bank for the purchase of a plot in Churchill Road, Gweru.
Later one of the directors of the company, Guy Marshal Caister checked the status of the company’s bank account and noticed the transaction before raising a query disowning the transaction.
He was informed that the bank acted on instructions from one of the company’s directors Christian Allan Obehozlei who also denied knowledge of the transaction.
The bank made a report that led to Shirichena’s arrest.