Harare man gets 10 years for 175 counts of fraud

A Harare man has been convicted for 175 counts of fraud.

Kudakwashe Simon Vukomba was arraigned before the Harare Magistrates’ Court.

Vukomba was employed as a Finance Manager by the complainant, Morgan and Co between the period of 2021 and 2022.

He was assigned to pay taxes and fees to statutory bodies such as Securities and Exchange of Zimbabwe (SECZim) and Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra).

The state said, Vukomba would raise requisitions for the payments, have them signed off before making the payments online. Whilst on the internet banking platform the he would change the account numbers of statutory bodies and replace them with his own company accounts or those of his friends and make the transfers accordingly.

The offence came to light after SECZim made a follow-up of outstanding payments. The accused was convicted on all the counts amounting to ZWL302 million.

Vukomba was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on the 11th of March 2024. 3 years were suspended for 5 years on condition of good behaviour. A further 4 years were suspended on the condition that the accused person pays back ZWL302 million to the company.