The suspect
Grace Makozho appeared before regional magistrate Donald Ndirowei, who remanded
her in custody to today pending bail considerations.
Makozho told
the court that she has already been charged with the same facts and granted
bail in South Africa and the court ordered the State to verify the status of
the status of the case.
The court heard
that Makozho was employed by Access Forex as a clerk from July 2022 up to March
last year.
Her duties
among others were to receive calls from clients on behalf of the company and
assist them.
The court heard
that in April 2023, Makozho created ghost remittance accounts within the
company’s system.
She was working
in the same office with Liniet Maphosa, who was responsible for receiving funds
from clients for transfer and do the transfers.
It is alleged
that after creating ghost accounts bearing non-existence remitters, Makozho
used Liniet Maphosa’s credentials to log into the transfer system.
She then used
the ghost accounts to transfer various amounts from Access Forex South Africa
to 91 various recipients in Zimbabwe. Amongst the recipients were her
accomplices Dickson Gweshe and Sheperd Gweshe, who are still at large.
She would then
instruct the recipients to withdraw the money from Access Forex tellers in
Zimbabwe and to handover the cash to her.
Makozho would
allegedly drive from South Africa to Zimbabwe to collect the cash.
During the
transfer no money would have been debited into Access Forex.
Makozho
allegedly transferred some of the money into her South African FNB accounts.
In order to
conceal the elicit origin of the money, she went on to use the money to acquire
various properties.
She further
transferred some of the money she would have received from her recipients to
South African FNB accounts so as to conceal the destination of the ill-gotten
funds in contravening Money Laundering and proceeds of crime act.
Access Forex
discovered the offence after carrying an audit that is when they discovered
that the accounts which were used to send the money from South Africa were fake
and do not exist within the system.
Makozho was
arrested at her rural home in Chiredzi. Upon arrest she allegedly lied that she
was Milicent Kwangwari being a sister to Makozho, who was being sought, and
that Grace Makazho was in South Africa.
She was taken
to ZRP Masvingo Rural where she was further interviewed, and it was discovered
that she had lied to the police after national identity card bearing her was
found in her bag.
Total value
stolen is US$322 510 and R650 000 and nothing was recovered. H Metro
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