Zimbabwe Leaf Company finance clerk up for fraud

Zvikomborero Parafini

Zimbabwe Leaf Company finance clerk, Joyful Tafadzwa Matanga will spend the holiday in remand prison after he was dragged to court charged with fraud.

Matanga and his accomplice Netsai Saini appeared before Magistrate Simon Kandiero on Monday.

Saini was released on US$100 bail while Matanga was remanded in custody until August 16 for bail considerations.

Zimbabwe Leaf Tobacco Company is being represented by finance manager, Obey Magunje.

Saini is employed by Glenrise Investments.

Allegations are that between March last year and July this year, the duo connived to steal from Zimbabwe Leaf Tobacco Company.

Matanga allegedly then created a fictitious tobacco growers number and deposited funds amounting to US$22,237 into Saini’s Stanbic bank account.

Stanbic Bank raised suspicion about the nature of the transaction and blocked her account.

Matanga allegedly then fraudulently created a seller sheet with grower number 250546 in respect of Clifford Mangena and gave the seller sheet to Saini, who then proceeded to Stanbic Bank and tendered the forged document resulting in the bank unfreezing the account.

Saini then withdrew a total of US$15 515 and shared the money with Matanga.

Zimbabwe Leaf Company discovered the offence and reported the matter to the police.

Matanga was arrested at a wedding at ZFC Sports Club over the weekend.

Saini was arrested in Ngezi, which led to the recovery of US$1000 from her loot.

In the second count, the court heard that Matanga was in charge of paying tobacco farmers, who would have sold tobacco on Zimbabwe Leaf Tobacco contract floors and payment of transporters of tobacco on behalf of growers.

He created a fictitious tobacco seller sheet number purporting the farmer had sold tobacco to Zimbabwe Leaf Company.

He would upload the sales file containing the forged seller sheet number into the company’s payment system.

Matanga would then deposit varying amounts amounting to US$217 551 into various bank accounts which were not due to receive any payment from the company.

The company lost US$217 551.

Polite Chikiwa appeared for the State.