tawandamusarurwa
Online Reporter
AN illegal foreign currency dealer in connivance with a salesman employed by Bakers Inn is being charged with fraud and dealing in foreign currency on the parallel market.
Douglas Ruzana (31) and Welemu Masauso (44) on Friday appeared before Harare magistrate, Mrs Yeukai Dzuda, charged with illegally dealing in foreign currency and fraud using a cloned bank card.
They were not asked to plead, and were remanded in custody until March 1, 2022.
Prosecutor, Ms Lynntte Gwarisa, said on February 14, 2022 at around 1220hrs the complainant received an SMS notification from bank of a debit amounting to $200 000 in a point of sale purchase at Innscor Bakers.
On the same day, around 1400hrs, she received another SMS alert indicating that she had done a point of sale purchase of goods worth $6 600 at Windmill Ruwa.
The complainant was in possession of her bank card, and had not carried out the indicated transactions.
The prosecutor said the complainant then approached the bank and requested a bank statement and for the card in question to be blocked.
When the complainant went through her bank statement she realised that another transaction of $94 560 was effected on her account on February 14, 2022 and no SMS alert had been sent by the bank.
Investigations into the matter led to the arrest of Masauso, a Bakers Inn salesman, whose point of sale machine was used to swipe $200 000 and $94 560 using an unlawfully duplicated card of the complainant’s bank card.
The accused then led the detectives to the arrest of Ruzana, an illegal foreign currency trader at Machipisa Shopping Centre in Highfield, as the one who used the cloned card on Masauso’s point of sale machine in exchange for US dollars.
Online Reporter