daniel chigunwe
Zvikomborero Parafini
BUSINESSMAN Neville Mutsvangwa is now off the hook following the granting of his application for refusal of further remand.
Mutsvangwa and his suspected accomplices – Ellis Majachani and Simbarashe Tichingana – who were facing money laundering and illegal dealing in foreign currency cases, filed an application for refusal of further remand before magistrate Apollonia Marutya on Wednesday.
Through their lawyer Oliver Marwa, the trio argued that the continuous postponement of their case was unjustified as the State had failed to provide them with a speedy trial.
Two months ago, the State furnished the trio with a trial date but later made a U-turn saying it now wanted the trio to be tried at the High Court.
Magistrate Marutya ruled that the delay in the case was unreasonable and ordered the State to proceed by way of summons when its house is in order.
The State was alleging that during the period extending from January 1 2019 to May 8 this year, the trio formed Mumba Money Transfer services without a licence in violation of the Bank Use Promotion and Suppression of Money Laundering Act and Exchange Control Act.
They advertised on the internet directing clients to their offices in Harare.
The trio allegedly employed a combination of electronic funds transfers and physical cash for their unlawful transactions, leveraging foreign bank accounts to obfuscate their activities.
The Police recovered four smartphones, 45 sim cards, four computers, one Point Of Sale (POS) machine, 28 debit cards (including 15 VISA cards issued by foreign banks), three money counters and a register of transactions and US$3 890 cash.
Online Reporter