Qatar-based State-owned broadcaster, Al Jazeera, has
announced that it will release a four-part documentary titled: Gold Mafia exposing
how Zimbabwe’s gold is used to launder money by prominent local
businesspersons, government, Zanu PF and RBZ officials.
Mangudya on Monday released a statement refuting claims
that the bank was involved in money laundering.
Speaking at a breakfast meeting in Harare yesterday,
Mangudya said: “That is why I said we don’t know the reasons why those people
who were interviewed told Al Jazeera what they did. I have nothing against Al
Jazeera. It was those people who were interviewed, who were volunteering, who
were trying to be big people in talking about Zimbabwe, that this is a place
where you can launder your funds.”
The breakfast meeting was hosted by the Zimbabwe Economics
Society and German-based civic organisation Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
He said: “In those responses, we also advised that there
was no need to use money laundering funds for financing gold in Zimbabwe
because gold is not sanctioned, so why use illicit financing?”
Apart from the RBZ, some of the prominent Zimbabweans
mentioned in snippets of the documentary include Ubert Angel and gold dealer
Ewan Macmillan.
Henrietta Rushwaya, president of Zimbabwe Miners Federation
was also mentioned in the documentary.
Coincidentally, Rushwaya was arrested two years back, but
not convicted for trying to smuggle out six kilogrammes of gold at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe
International Airport in Harare.
“By the way, money laundering is serious, very serious.
When people say to me did I respond too fast, or was I not supposed to wait,
waiting for what when the house is burning? You are told that there is money
laundering in your country and that the RBZ is the one that is cleaning these
suits called laundering and then you sleep comfortably waiting?” Mangudya asked
rhetorically.
“We were just removed from the FATF (Financial Action Task
Force) grey list which is about money laundering and counter financing
terrorism because we worked very hard for it, then someone is trying to put a
knife in us for whatever reasons.”
FATF is an intergovernmental organisation based in France
that develops policies to combat money laundering and the financing of
terrorism.
Zimbabwe was removed from the grey list in March 2022,
after being placed on the list in 2019. Newsday
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