The publication understands that the bank appeared in court
on March 30 2021, and an emissary (name withheld) tried to bribe Justice Esther
Muremba with a gift bag whose contents we could not immediately ascertain.
“Apparently FBC sent the judge a gift pack on March 29, a
day before she was set to hand down judgement on the matter in which FBC was
dragged in.
“She said she was prepared to hand down judgment in Motion
Court before she then received the gift bag. She walked in court and asked Mr
Muchada who represented FBC to explain
this ‘gesture’.
“Muchada sought instructions from his client (FBC) and was told that it was an annual gift they
give to all judges as Christmas gifts, Muremba fumed and asked them to take
their gift back immediately and she also questioned the logic of receiving a
Christmas gift in March,” revealed our source who was present at the scene.
Enquiries at the Judicial Services Commission (JSC)
established that despite of FBC ‘s claims, Muremba was the only judge out of 30
High Court judges that received the Christmas ‘gift’ in March.
Muremba herself is believed to have actually referred the
matter to the JSC and been irked by the unethical offer.
Trusted sources said Muremba publicly refused to accept the
gift bag and questioned the bank’s legal counsel why their client tried to
compromise her.
Circumstances are that a
Harare lawyer Nigel Sithole filed an urgent chamber application to have
his three digital platforms (Mobile Moola, USSD *220# and Noku )with FBC
suspended.
This was after a stranger manipulated one of the platforms
using his name and went on to dupe people in a rent to buy car scheme.
According to court papers seen by Zim Morning Post, Sithole
argued that the loopholes in the digital platforms rendered them unlawful and a contravention of the Money Laundering and
Proceeds of Crime Act (Chapter 9.24).
He further argued that the platforms were operating with
little regards to the Know Your Client
(KYC) verification process provided for in the opening of bank accounts.
“The opening of the
account was done fraudulently without the knowledge and consent of the
applicant (Sithole).
“The imposter started duping unsuspecting members of the
public through some rent to buy scheme as he masqueraded as the applicant,”
read part of the court papers.
The bank’s Loss Control personnel allegedly revealed that
clients can open a bank account by just simply submitting their surnames and
national identity card number without furnishing the physical document for
verification.
This system left clients susceptible to criminals. Zim
Morning Post contacted Sithole who confirmed the incident and praised Justice
Muremba for upholding ethics and transparency. “ While I have the deepest
respect for the Judge (Muremba) and how she conducted herself with the utmost
fairness and transparency. I was quite perturbed by the conduct of the bank and
wonder what it is exactly was meant to be achieved by handing over this gift.
Institutionally, this raises a lot of questions about the types of decisions
made at management level of FBC,” he said and refused to comment further.
FBC Holdings group chief executive John Mushayavanhu said
he was not competent to comment on
matters dealt with at court, but he however was quick to say the matter
was concluded.
“I refer to your enquiry and advise that I am not competent
to comment on court matters. This is an issue that was explained, dealt with
and dispensed with at the court,“ he said in an emailed response.
Meanwhile, this not the first time FBC Holdings (FBCH) has
been sucked in allegations of scandalous conduct.
In 2017, the listed
entity was embroiled in a fraud storm
involving a disputed US$3,4 million in management fees and allegations of
overstating financial statements by over US$10 million.
This triggered a bitter row between the financial services
group and one of its foreign investors Noel Hayes.
He accused the entity of “misrepresentations, fraud and
material non-disclosures” which resulted in him suffering serious financial
prejudice. ZIM Morning Post
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