Company loses US$322k, R600k to former employee

Source: The Herald – Breaking news.

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 Grace Makozho, a former employee of the institution, appeared before Harare regional magistrate Mr Donald Ndirowei on Monday facing charges of fraud, money laundering and providing false information to a public authority.

Yeukai Karengezeka-Court Correspondent

ACCESS Forex, a financial institution dealing in cash remittances, reportedly suffered losses amounting to US$322 510 and ZAR650 000 after an employee allegedly crafted a sophisticated fraudulent scheme involving ghost remittances.

Grace Makozho, a former employee of the institution, appeared before Harare regional magistrate Mr Donald Ndirowei on Monday facing charges of fraud, money laundering and providing false information to a public authority.

She was remanded in custody, with a bail ruling set for today.

Prosecutor Mr Lancelot Mutsokoti said the alleged fraud took place in April 2023 while Makozho was working for Access Forex in South Africa. She allegedly devised a plan to defraud the company by creating fake remittance accounts in its internal system.

The court heard that Makozho used her colleague Liniet Maphosa’s credentials to log into the company’s transfer system.

She then transferred funds from Access Forex South Africa to 91 recipients in Zimbabwe, including her alleged accomplices Dickson Gweshe and Shepherd Gweshe, who are at large.

After the funds were withdrawn from Access Forex tellers in Zimbabwe, the recipients reportedly handed over the cash to Makozho.

She allegedly drove from South Africa to Zimbabwe to personally collect the money.

The State alleges that Makozho used the stolen funds to acquire properties and transferred some of the money to two South African FNB bank accounts to obscure the source and destination of the funds.

Makozho is charged with violating the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act.

The scheme was exposed during an internal audit, which revealed that the accounts used for the transactions were fake and did not exist in the system.

On Sunday, detectives received information about Makozho’s whereabouts at her home in Village Kada, Chief Nyajena, Chiredzi.

Upon their arrival, Makozho allegedly identified herself as Millicent Kwangwari, claiming to be the sister of the wanted individual.

However, further searches revealed her true identity after a national ID card bearing her name was found in her bag.

Makozho eventually confessed to lying to the police.

The total amount stolen is reported to be US$322 510 and R650 000, with no recoveries made to date.