MAN, ACCUSED OF STEALING $69M WHICH WAS ERRONEOUSLY TRANSFERRED INTO HIS BANK ACCOUNT, FOUND NOT GUILTY

Itai Mazambani, represented by Admire Rubaya, pleaded not guilty to theft and money laundering charges when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Vongai Guwuriro.

Zvikomborero Parafini

A HARARE man, who was accused of stealing more than $69 million from NMB Bank which had erroneously been deposited into his bank account afteran alleged loan application, is now a FREE man.

A regional court cleared him of the charges, taking a swipe at the bank officials, the police and prosecution for being “untidy” in gathering evidence.

Itai Mazambani, represented by Admire Rubaya, pleaded not guilty to theft and money laundering charges when he appeared before Chief Magistrate Vongai Guwuriro.

The State alleged that from February 8, 2022, to February 10,2022, Mazambani unlawfully took $69,006 224,03 which had erroneously been deposited into his account.

The State alleged that he transferred the money into several corporate and individual bank accounts in exchange for United States dollars on the parallel market.

Mazambani denied being the person in charge of his NMB bank account at the time and denied playing any role in the transfer of the money.

He pointed to a manipulation of his account in question by NMB Bank employees and accused one, Lyn Charlie, of making an error which her superior, identified only as Ndhlumbi, conveniently overlooked.

The defence argued that there was no tangible evidence by the witnesses.

“The alleged error was noticed five days later, an indication the bank lacked strong internal systems. “The bank statements relied on lacked certification,” Rubaya said.

The magistrate said the State was not thorough in compiling evidence against Mazambani and said the “State dumped everything and now wants the court to fix all the loopholes and convict the accused.”

The court also heard from two money changers who claimed to have dealt with Mazambani.

“They claimed they visited the accused to give him the US dollars but the State was challenged to provide evidence such as gate book or CCTV but there was none.”

The State also claimed Mazambani used some of the money to pay fees for his children.

“The State was a bit untidy in terms of gathering evidence in this case.

“Surely there was nothing stopping them from obtaining the birth certificate of the pupils whose fees were paid for a complete story to be established.”