Zacc targets recovery of US$1,6m in ill-gotten assets

Source: Zacc targets recovery of US$1,6m in ill-gotten assets | The Sunday Mail

Mr Reza

Sunday Mail Reporter

THE Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (zacc) has completed 10 dockets through its Asset Recovery Unit during the first three months of the year and expects to recover US$1,6 million worth of suspected ill-gotten wealth.

The unit forms part of zacc’s broader mandate to pursue asset recovery as a key tool in the fight against graft.

zacc had targeted recouping approximately US$2 million in value lost to corruption during the first quarter of the year.

According to the commission’s first quarterly report, the watchdog received 183 corruption-related complaints from across the country’s 10 provinces, with Harare accounting for 86 percent of total cases.

Gweru followed with 11 complaints, accounting for just 6 percent of the total number of reports.

“Asset recovery has become essential in the global fight against corruption,” said zacc chairperson Mr Michael Reza.

“The commission conducts investigations and refers the cases to the National Prosecuting Authority to apply for seizure or forfeiture of the assets. During the first quarter, the commission referred 10 cases with a total value of US$1 626 842.”

He said fraud remained the most reported offence, followed by criminal abuse of office.

These made up the majority of cases referred to the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ).

Specifically, 45 cases (46 percent) involved fraud, while 21 cases (21 percent) had to do with criminal abuse of duty.

Other reported crimes included theft or theft of trust property (10 cases), as well as money laundering, smuggling, tax evasion, contempt of court and violations of the Regional Town and Country Planning Act.

“These continue to be crimes of concern and investigative efforts continue targeting them,” Mr Reza added.

“There is need for specialised training of officers in dealing with these cases and even setting aside teams that deal specifically with these cases.

The commission’s thrust is to target investigation of high-profile cases, especially those that impact negatively on the economy.

“For the period under review, 26 high-profile cases were referred to NPA out of the 99 cases referred. Seventy-three (73) were general cases.”

zacc reported that 99 cases were referred to NPAZ for prosecution in the period under review. From those referrals, 12 cases went to trial and resulted in 12 convictions, representing a 100 percent conviction rate.

ZACC also noted that the convictions involved 13 individuals, including one organisation. Of the convicted individuals, 11 were male and one female.

“It should be noted that a single case may comprise two or more accused persons and, therefore, there are a total of thirteen (13) individuals, of which eleven (11) are males, one (1) female and one organisation that have been convicted.”