NEVILLE MUTSVANGWA SEEKS REFUSAL OF REMAND

Zvikomborero Parafini

BUSINESSMAN Neville Mutsvangwa has filed an application for refusal of further remand in his money laundering and illegal dealing in foreign currency cases.

Mutsvangwa and his suspected accomplices — Ellis Majachani and Simbarashe Tichingana — filed the bid before magistrate Apollonia Marutya yesterday.

The matter was rolled over to today for the ruling.

Through their lawyer Oliver Marwa, the trio argued that the continuous postponement of their case was illegal, malicious and unjustified as the State has 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.

The trio now await indictment.

Marwa further argued that the claim that the State wants to indict them for trial at the High Court is a lie meant to trick the court into allowing the State’s continuous postponements to appear as if their house is on order when it was not.

Prosecutor Rufaro Chonzi opposed the application, arguing that their house was in order and they were ready to proceed to trial.

The State is alleging that during the period from January 1, 2019, to May 8, 2024, 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.