MAN LOSES US$488K IN BOTCHED DEAL
A HARARE woman landed in the dock over the weekend after she reportedly duped a Borrowdale businessman of over US$488k in a botched chemicals deal.
Eustine Charambira was not asked to plead when she appeared before Harare magistrate Isheanesu Matova.
The circumstances are that sometime in October 2020, Charambira was approached by the complainant Erasmus Chimbumu who wanted to buy mining chemicals after he was referred by one of his suppliers, Ragu Sivaragas.
Charambira told Chimbumu that she had a company which buys mining chemicals from United Kingdom and ships them to Durban, South Africa, from where she would collect them to Zimbabwe.
It is alleged that Chimbumu told Charambira that he only had RTGS Dollars for payment of mining chemicals and she said she wanted the mining chemicals to be paid in United States Dollars or South African Rand.
The court heard that the following day Charambira called Chimbumu and told him that he could send the RTGS Dollar to her various suppliers so that she could get US dollars using the black market rate and he agreed.
From the period of October 2020 to December 2020, it is alleged that he sent RTGS dollar into various accounts of Charambira’s suppliers.
Chimbumu was told to expect his mining chemicals in January 2021 but when he asked for the goods at the end of January 2021, he was advised that the money had been stolen.
Chimbumu made a police report and Charambira made an undertaking to pay back the money by April 2021.
Chimbumu asked Charambira about his mining chemicals and she said she did not have money but she was expecting US$1m from an investor from the United Kingdom.
She further demanded money from Chimbumu to hire a private jet from United Kingdom to Zimbabwe so that she could reimburse him when that US$1m arrives in Zimbabwe.
He sent US$50 000.00 to her through Ragu Sivaragas and later on it was established that there was no investor brought by Charambira to Zimbabwe and it was also established through investigations that she had lied that the money had been stolen by a certain man in Chitungwiza.
Chimbumu has been prejudiced of USD$488 000 and nothing was recovered.
Lancelot Mutsokoti appeared for the State.