TWO prominent Harare businessmen are entangled in a US$1.4 million fraud case after they connived to sell a partially developed property in the capital city.
Honda Centre director, Satishbhai Patel (60), and Ebrahim Mahomad (57), who is the director of Union Hardware, were last week arrested and appeared in court for contravening section 136 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act chapter 9:23.
Complainant in the matter is Meadow Sweet Investments (Private) Limited represented by Nyasha Emmanuel Watyoka.
The State case is that sometime in 2002, complainant bought land developed to double storey level at stand number 3081, Salisbury township on land measuring 1170 square metres.
The stand was bought from John Dimitriou Mallis and Myrsina Myrtoula Dimitriou and the deed of transfer done in the title of Meadow Sweet Investments (Pvt) Ltd.
After buying the property, complainant left it intending to renovate the structure and change it into an office complex.
In 2004, all the directors left Zimbabwe, hence no progress was witnessed on the said premises.
In 2011, and since the property was lying idle, accused persons connived and hatched a plan to defraud complainant.
The State alleges the duo of Patel and Mohamad went on to draft a special resolution purporting that the accused one was a director of the complainant's company and appointed to sell the property on its behalf.
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It's alleged they drafted a power of attorney with Patel empowering fugitive Cuthbert Chengeta to transfer the property into the name of the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA). The accused persons eventually sold the property to ZERA.
In 2023, one of the directors of Meadow Sweet Investments, Dr. Muchazoreka Richardson Nyamugama returned intending to make developments on the property and discovered that the site had been renovated and was already under use by ZERA.
He made further inquiries and observed that the disputed property had already been transferred into ZERA's name by Chengeta, who acted as conveyancer during the process of transfer of deed through power of attorney signed by Patel.
State avers that the complainant never, at any time, met accused persons, let alone authorise the sale of the property.
Further allegations are that Patel was never a director of Meadow Sweet Investments Pvt Ltd as purported on the resolution.
According to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), the capital gains tax certificate that was submitted to the Registrar of Deeds for the transfer of the property was not authentic and is not in their records.
Prosecutors allege that accused persons had no legal right to act in the manner they did. As a result of their actions, the complainant suffered prejudice of US$1.4 million and nothing has so far been recovered.
