Zimra official granted bail in US$6,3m case

Tapiwa Felix Chikondo was arrested on December 3 and charged with obstructing justice after allegedly interfering with police efforts to arrest his employer. His initial bail application was denied on December 5.

Yeukai Karengezeka-Court Correspondent

A ZIMBABWE Revenue Authority employee implicated in a fraud scheme that prejudiced the organisation of over US$6,3 million was yesterday granted US$300 bail.

Paradzai Mutasa (35), a systems developer, had been denied bail last week but reapplied under changed circumstances with Mr Admire Rubaya as the new legal representation.

Harare regional magistrate Mrs Marehwanazvo Gofa granted the bail after Mutasa’s lawyer argued that the State had consented to bail in similar cases involving other implicated agents.

Mutasa is jointly charged with Shupikai Mary Nicola Marongwe (52), a database administrator.

Both face charges of criminal abuse of office as public officers and, alternatively, fraud.

According to the State, the two allegedly exploited their roles at ZIMRA to manipulate the organisation’s systems by creating fictitious entries in clearing agents’ prepayment accounts.

This enabled agents to bypass customs duties while the accused pocketed the proceeds.

Marongwe, tasked with database creation, maintenance, and disaster recovery, allegedly collaborated with Mutasa, who was responsible for developing and customising ZIMRA’s software.

They are accused of abusing the Zimbabwe Electronic Single Window (ZESW) project, which integrates with the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) to streamline import and export processes.

The fraud reportedly began on September 4, 2024, when a Ugandan consultant, Innocent Onega, working on the ZESW project, requested Marongwe to create a view-only account linking the ZESW and ASYCUDA systems.

Instead, Marongwe and Mutasa allegedly created an unauthorised account, “ZESWASYCUDA,” granting it extensive rights to edit, delete, and update databases without supervisory approval.

Using this account, the accused inflated clearing agents’ prepayment accounts with fictitious deposit entries, misrepresenting that funds had been deposited into ZIMRA’s bank accounts.

The agents used these balances to clear goods without paying customs duties, in exchange for kickbacks shared with the accused.

The fraudulent scheme reportedly caused ZIMRA to lose ZWL 171 186 079 (US$6 340 251) and US$37 200 in revenue. No money has been recovered to date.