A UK-based company director has appeared in a Harare court facing theft charges after allegedly defrauding Schweppes Zimbabwe in a US$22,000 Mazoe Orange Crush scheme.
A 33-year-old company director has appeared in court facing theft charges after allegedly orchestrating a scheme that prejudiced Schweppes Zimbabwe of more than US$22,000 worth of Mazoe Orange Crush.
The accused, Tatenda Masawi, appeared before Harare magistrate Ruth Moyo over the weekend and was not asked to plead to the charges.
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The complainant in the matter is Schweppes Zimbabwe, represented in court by its Senior Loss Control Officer, Admire Nhenderere.
According to the State, Masawi is the managing director of MSTATZ Private Limited, a logistics company based in the United Kingdom. Prosecutors allege that he initiated contact with Schweppes Zimbabwe on January 25, making an enquiry to purchase 1,750 cases of Mazoe Orange Crush.
Court documents indicate that Masawi was quoted US$36,750 for the local market and US$21,205 for the export market. It is alleged that he misrepresented that the consignment was intended for export to the United Kingdom.
Prosecutors further allege that Masawi proceeded to place the order under the export arrangement and paid US$21,205 for the goods on January 31, benefiting from the lower export price.
On February 14, the consignment was inspected and sealed for export by the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority before being loaded onto a Mozambique-registered truck at Schweppes Zimbabwe premises for transportation through Forbes Border Post.
However, investigations by authorities revealed that the shipment did not leave the country as declared. It is alleged that the Zimra seal was broken in Harare shortly after departure, and the consignment failed to reach its stated destination.
The matter came to light after the truck did not arrive at Forbes Border Post as expected, prompting investigations that later implicated Masawi in the alleged scheme.
As a result of the alleged misrepresentation, Schweppes Zimbabwe reportedly suffered an actual loss of US$14,915 and incurred a Zimra penalty of US$7,478. This brings the total prejudice to US$22,399.95, with no recoveries made to date.
Police have since seized Masawi’s mobile phone, which has been submitted for forensic analysis as investigations into the case continue.
