ZIFA have added their former finance manager Benjamin Dhewa
and ex-accountant Fabian Vanganayi to a cartel of football leaders, led by
their former chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze, whom the association accuse
of having captured Zimbabwean football for years in which they ran a fraudulent
multi-million-dollar scheme that ripped the game of its financial muscle.
The domestic football governing body wants the trio
arrested for the financial crimes they allegedly committed as they worked in
cahoots to milk the association during their time as leaders of both the
financial and administrative arms of ZIFA.
They have dubbed it “ZIFA Capture” and claim the fraudulent activities
of the trio ripped the heart off domestic football and left it resembling a
shell weighed down by a debt that ballooned from $600 000 to over $7 million in
less than six years.
The Warriors were also expelled from the FIFA 2018 World
Cup qualifiers, for the first time in their history, after ZIFA failed to pay
the team’s former coach Valinhos about $68 000 despite the PSL having forwarded
a similar amount from their coffers for the dissolution of the debt.
The money paid by the PSL, just like about $55 000 that was
given to ZIFA by their benefactor Walter Magaya for the Young Warriors COSAFA
Under-20 Tournament in South Africa in 2015 did not find its way to the
intended destination. This led to the prophet publicly rebuking Mashingaidze
for the way his financial support ended in the wrong hands.
“I wasn’t very happy on the issue of the rands (560 000)
that l gave (to the Young Warriors). Some of the players didn’t even get them,
including the coach,” Magaya thundered back then.
“Mr Mashingaidze, my support is not for you, is not on the
ZIFA side, l’m not a political person. My support is on these guys (players).”
ZIFA made a report to the police on Friday in which they accused Mashingaidze
of running a cartel that was fleecing the association of millions of dollars in
a fraudulent scheme that had left the organisation with a debt in excess of $7
million.
Yesterday, ZIFA added former accountant Venganayi and
ex-finance manager Dhewa to the cartel in a report they made to the police. The
developments came on the day that the Confederation of African Football also
exposed Mashingaidze as the man who was working as a local spy for the
continental body’s former president Issa Hayatou during the boardroom battles
that eventually toppled the Cameroonian strongman from power.
Mashingaidze had gambled on Hayatou retaining his position
in the battle against Ahmad and then using a dossier, which the former ZIFA
chief executive sent to CAF, to boot ZIFA president Philip Chiyangwa from his
position as part of a cocktail of disciplinary measures against the Harare
property tycoon for leading the campaign to topple the Cameroonian.
Although Mashingaidze was still employed by ZIFA back then,
he secretly sent a dossier to CAF outlining what he claimed to be
transgressions by his boss and calling for the continental football governing
body to kick him out of domestic football administration.
That CAF didn’t even entertain Mashingaidze’s package of
allegations, including vote-buying and mismanagement, but have now sent that
dossier back to Chiyangwa, exposing Mashingaidze’s shenanigans, also suggest
that the former ZIFA chief executive’s battle to rope in either the continental
organisation or FIFA to kick out the ZIFA boss are clearly a fruitless
exercise. ZIFA have now gone a step further to try and nail Mashingaidze and
his crew.
“We made a report with the above RRB Number (report on
theft/fraud at ZIFA RRB 3370999) on Saturday 16 December 2017 wherein the
accused person was one Jonathan Mashingaidze,” read a report filed with the
police yesterday by ZIFA chief executive Joseph Mamutse.
“Further perusal of the information at hand has revealed
that the accused worked with the following persons in committing the crimes in
the report and others. Mr Benjamin Dhewa ID number 18-06224 D 18 of 1619
Damofalls and Mr Fabian Madzima Venganayi of Second Avenue, Mbare.
“The criminal activities took place over several years with
the parties taking advantage of their positions and influential offices to
siphon money out of the institution fraudulently.
“The three cases in the 2011 Audit Report (reveal):
1) theft of an amount of $41 215
2) theft of amount of $99 648
3) fraud amounting to $744 635
“It has now come out that the trio, working together and at
times individually, stole or misappropriated or defrauded the association of
various amounts on several occasions some of which are listed below:
a) Mr Fabian Venangayi stole $1 500 by way of withholding
part of the gate takings and converted the amount to his own use and never
returned the money to ZIFA.
b) The trio took advantage of a garnish placed ZIFA BancABC
account and fraudulently withdrew money from the account and converted it to
own use. “We are requesting the Zimbabwe Republic Police to effect arrest of
these criminals and bring them to book.
“ZIFA is suffocating from the problems brought about by
these people. It would be in the best interest of justice that the culprits
return whatever moneys they stole and/or defrauded from ZIFA. We need to regain
lost confidence and trust from the donor community in order for ZIFA to function
smoothly.” Herald
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