Online Reporter
Nyore Madzianike-Senior Reporter
THE National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe recovered and preserved assets worth approximately US$29 million by the third quarter of the 2026 legal year, with the Prosecutor-General targeting to surpass the US$55 million asset recovery target by five percent by year-end.
The positive results have been attributed to strengthened inter-agency cooperation among players in the justice delivery chain, with joint investigations helping to bring cases before specialised courts.
Deputy Prosecutor-General Mr Chris Mutangadura, who heads the Asset Recovery Unit at NPAZ, said the authority was making progress in recovering proceeds of crime and securing convictions.
“What I can show you is that, so far, the assets that we have recovered and also preserved through court orders is worth around US$29 million in the third quarter,” he said.
“We are expecting at the end of the year, to at least recover about US$55 million because we have got targets that are premised on particular cases of interest that are actually under investigation, some on appeal and some already concluded.”
Mr Mutangadura said 14 cases were pending in the High Court with 15 others in anti-corruption courts.
Deputy Prosecutor-General Mr Chris Mutangadura, who heads the Asset Recovery Unit at NPAZ, said the authority was making progress in recovering proceeds of crime and securing convictions.
“We are hoping that by the end of the year, we will reach our envisaged targets with a possibility of exceeding the targets by five percent,” he said.
Mr Mutangadura said the authority had also recorded progress in extraditing individuals wanted for various offences through the Interpol platform. NPAZ, he said, has extradited six people wanted on Interpol Red Notices for money laundering, theft and armed robbery.
“We do have tangible results as regards the extent to which we have managed to secure convictions and recover proceeds of crime during the 2026 legal year,” he said.
“We now have an inter-agency platform locally, consisting of all players in the justice delivery value chain. We are now able to discuss all cases that we enrol for prosecution in the anti-corruption courts, in the anti-drugs courts, in the victim-friendly courts.
“We have got specialised courts, where we are now having joint investigations resulting in us enlisting cases for prosecution. So, the economic crimes courts, or anti-corruption courts, deal with economic crimes and matters related to money laundering and illicit financial flows.”
The inter-agency cooperation is also being used to support Zimbabwe’s compliance with international standards as the country undergoes self-evaluation.
Preliminary evidence has been submitted to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) under the banner of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG), a FATF-styled body mandated to conduct peer reviews of Zimbabwe’s compliance with its 40 recommendations.
The FATF’s recommendations examine how member states handle policies and coordination, money laundering and confiscation, terrorist and proliferation financing, preventive measures, and transparency and beneficial ownership.
“We are doing this for ourselves as a country, and also in order to comply with international best standards,” Mr Mutangadura said.
He said the authority had secured convictions in cases involving a range of challenging offences linked to proceeds of crime.
“We do have many cases. What we can only prove or demonstrate is that we have secured convictions with regards to challenging crimes, such as predicated offences to money laundering, tax offences, smuggling, illicit trafficking in precious stones and minerals, fraud, corruption and theft.”
In asset recovery, he said NPAZ and other agencies had recovered proceeds and instrumentalities linked to various offences, including drugs, illicit firearms, and smuggled or stolen motor vehicles.
“So, we have had about 223 motor vehicles that we have already recovered and forfeited to the State by virtue of them being tainted property,” he said.
“We have also managed to recover instrumentalities of crime, where a person smuggles anything that is supposed to pay duty. The vehicle, vessel, or asset that was used to facilitate the smuggling itself is an instrumentality of a crime and we have managed to secure court orders to forfeit those assets.”
The inter-agency cooperation has also extended beyond Zimbabwe’s borders, with assets recovered from countries in the region.
“We can safely tell you that we have assets that we have recovered from South Africa, Botswana, Malawi and Mozambique, basically in the SADC,” Mr Mutangadura said.
“This is as a result of our inter-agency network, that is the Asset Recovery Inter-agency Network of Southern Africa (ARINSA).
“Currently, we have even completed the guidelines on provision of mutual legal assistance, particularly for Zimbabwe, which was facilitated by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and ARINSA. This was sanctioned by the Government which has given us all the blessings to enforce these guidelines and standards.
“We have done six extraditions, so far, of people who are wanted on the Interpol platform, the Interpol Red Notice, and those wanted for money laundering, theft and armed robbery. Those are some of the success stories that we have.”
Mr Mutangadura said cooperation with regional authorities had also assisted in securing the arrest and extradition of people accused of committing offences in Zimbabwe.
“There is what we call the bi-national commission, between South Africa and Zimbabwe. It is led by the central Government itself. We are plugging in syndicates and illicit financial flows domestically, regionally and internationally,” he said.
