By Rutendo Ngara
HARARE regional magistrate Stanford Mambanje on Friday admitted an audit report submitted by Glawex Investments which audited companies which were being managed by a Harare couple Clever Clark Makoni and his wife Aisha.
The couple stand accused of forging CR14 forms of Valley Lodge owned by the former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono and siphoning $137 million from the company. During their last court appearance the couple’s lawyer Admire Rubaya had objected to the tendering of the audit report on the basis that it was not signed by a recognised public auditor.
However, the State led by Heather Muwokoto argued that Valley Lodge was a private company hence there was no need to hire a public auditor when conducting private audits unless there was a need. “The objection to tendering the audit report is overruled.
There is nothing wrong with submitting it, as it was prepared procedurally by the company,” magistrate Mambanje ruled. He further emphasised that the authenticity of the audit report would be subjected to cross-examination during trial.
The matter was then adjourned to March 28. In 2017, Gono assigned Ark Properties, a company which is owned by the couple to manage Valley Lodge in Mutare as estate agents.
“In August 2017, the accused persons hatched a plan to defraud the complainant by fraudulently changing the directorship of Valley Lodge without the knowledge of the complainant and consent of the complainant. “On 10 August 2017, accused one (Clever) filed a fraudulent CR14 form to the Registrar of Companies in which he imposed himself and his wife as the sole directors of Valley Lodge without the knowledge of the complainant,” the State alleges.
Last year the registrar of companies, Lindsay Musukutwa, appeared before the court as a State witness and confirmed that according to the records, the official directors of the company included Gono since 2009, Ayoob Omar and his brother Hussein Omar.
It is further alleged by the State that investigations established that the accused persons went to ZB Bank Holding with fraudulent CR14 form and impose themselves as the signatories of Valley Lodge. Thereafter, the accused persons made several withdrawals of funds received in the account and converted the money to their personal use.
“Investigations established that Valley Lodge is registered under the company and is under the directorship of Ayoob Omar and Mohamed Hussein Omar.
“They fraudulently took over the company the accused have been declaring that the company was making losses leading to Glawex Investments instituting an internal audit to look into the performance of Valley Lodge and other subsidiary companies,” the State alleges.
It is further alleged that it was during the internal audit process when it was established that Valley
Lodge had been fraudulently taken over by the accused persons.