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Fidelis Munyoro Chief Court Reporter
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has cleared its four directors of involvement in illicit currency dealings as alleged by Mr Acie Lumumba a.k.a William Gerald Mutumanje following investigations.
The directors — Messrs Mirirai Chiremba (financial intelligence), Norman Mataruka (bank supervision), Gresham Muradzikwa (head of security) and Azvinandawa Saburi (financial markets) — were suspended on October 22 to pave way for investigations.
This followed claims by Mr Mutumanje, who was then chairperson of the Finance and Economic Development Communication Taskforce, that the four engaged in illicit currency dealings.
In a statement yesterday, RBZ Governor Dr John Mangudya said investigations showed that the directors were not involved in corrupt activities as alleged by Mr Mutumanje.
“The bank and the law enforcement agents carried out investigations which on conclusion have revealed that Messrs Chiremba, Mataruka, Muradzikwa and Saburi were not involved in the corrupt activities or any impropriety as alleged by Mr Mutumanje,” said Dr Mangudya.
“The bank would thus like to advise the public that the quartet has been absolved of any wrongdoing.”
At the time of their suspension, the RBZ pledged to thoroughly investigate the claims and advise the public of the outcome.
The bank had found it necessary, for the sake of transparency and good corporate governance, that the allegations be followed through and investigated in line with the bank’s employment code of conduct.
In live video he posted on his Facebook page, Mr Mutumanje accused the four directors of fuelling the foreign currency black market by supplying money changers with bond notes and corrupt allocation of foreign currency.
Mr Mutumanje was subsequently fired three days after his appointment.
He had been appointed chairperson of a communications taskforce for the Treasury by Finance and Economic Development Minister Prof Mthuli Ncube.
Following his appointment, Mr Mutumanje hit the ground running and in a live video that went viral on the social media platforms, announced that RBZ directors were feeding the black market with bond notes.
Online Reporter