Shupikai Mary
Nicola Marongwe, a Database Administrator, and Paradzai Mutasa, a systems
developer, appeared before Harare magistrate Marewanazvo Gofa yesterday.
The court heard
that ZIMRA is currently running a project called Zimbabwe Electronic Single
Window which is meant to integrate with the ASYCUDA system so that agencies
connect managing permits, licences, certificates and other regulatory issues to
enhance the ease of doing business.
Permits and
licence fees will be calculated on the same receipt with customs and excise
duty.
The project is
on-going and is being implemented in phases.
ZIMRA engaged
United Nation Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) consultants in
setting up these databases and one of them Innocent Onega, a Ugandan national.
The consultants
worked with ZIMRA systems developers.
After they
finished setting up the ASYCUDA database, the consultants had to hand over the
system to the ZIMRA IT Personnel, on September 14 last year, Onega requested Marongwe to open an account that linked the
ASYCUDA system with the Zimbabwe Electronic Single Window system but with
view-only rights.
Pursuant to
their plan to deceive ZIMRA of its revenue, the two, working in common cause,
created an account called ZESWASYCUDA with excessive rights to edit or delete,
and update any table in the ASYCUDA database.
They didn’t
need authority or approval from their immediate supervisor from ZIMRA as per
the authority’s management policy.
The two
recruited clearing agents across the country whose pre-payment accounts would
be utilised in this scam.
Mutasa
allegedly started abusing the account by creating fictitious and inflated
figures in the clearing agents pre-payments accounts, misrepresenting that the
agents had deposited a certain amount in the ZIMRA bank accounts yet, in the
actual fact, no such amount had been deposited.
As a result of
the duo’s conduct, a number of clearing agents imported goods without paying
duty.
Thereafter, the
duo would then be given hard cash by the clearing agents and went on to convert
it for personal use, with the clearing agents also getting their share.
Various Bills
of Entry were processed by ZIMRA but the figures, which were reflecting in the
clearing agents prepayment accounts, was not the true value of money deposited.
Prosecutors
claimed that ZIMRA suffered an actual prejudice of ZIG$171 186 079.41 which is
equivalent to US$6,340,251 as well as a further US$37,200 and nothing was
recovered. H Metro
0 comments:
Post a Comment