By IOL News
A top Zimbabwean banker is at the centre of the nearly R2 billion Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) tender scandal involving a South African printing company paid R1.2 billion by the Harare government to supply election materials in 2023 amid money laundering investigations on both sides of the Limpopo River.
Raymond Singathini Chigogwana, who is chief executive of a Harare-based money transfer agency, Access Finance Group, and Access Forex (Proprietary) Limited, a money remittance entity in Johannesburg, facilitated prominent businessman Wicknell Chivayo’s rapid movement of R800 million across banks from proceeds of an allegedly corrupt deal now under investigation by the South African Revenue Services and police.
A recent South African Financial Intelligence Centre report states there was swift movement of (SAFIC) funds across different banks from Zimbabwe to South Africa – through Chivayo’s personal and business accounts – strongly indicating layering, which is part of money laundering.
Layering is a process by which criminals move illicit funds through a complex network of banks and transactions to obscure their source and make them appear legitimate.
It involves multiple transactions, often across different jurisdictions, and can include activities like international money transfers, investments in real estate, or purchases of high-value goods. The aim of layering is to create a trail that is difficult to trace back to the original source of funds.
Raymond Singathini Chigogwana
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) said it was investigating the issue.
“I can tell you right now we have some documents which we want to show the three gentlemen and I hope I am not prejudicing investigations, but I want Zimbabwe to know that we have not been sitting on this investigation,” ZACC chairperson Michael Reza told reporters.
“We have collected certain facts and when that information comes on the form 242 and if everything goes according to plan, we will use this to go to court. You will see detailed information with facts, figures and numbers. You will see those things, mark my words.”
ZACC also interviewed Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu, Chivayo’s former business partners. Chimombe and Mpofu were later detained over a different case after their fallout with Chivayo.
Most of the money laundering activities on this case happened between Zimbabwe and South Africa, with Johannesburg being the centre of action.
South African companies and banks are believed to have been deeply involved in the funds deposits and transfers.
Chigogwana, who has assets in Zimbabwe and South Africa, has been in banking for nearly 30 years – he worked for Zimbank (ZB Bank), BancABC, the now-defunct Premier Bank (Ecobank) where he was Managing Director, and currently Access Finance Group as chief executive and majority shareholder.
Access Finance, a money transfer hub, has operations in Harare and Johannesburg.
The SAFIC report found that Chigogwana received about R60 million from Chivayo’s labyrinth of companies through the Johannesburg-based Kumba Group (Pty) Ltd, which got R28,875,000, and via Agile Venture Capital (Pty) Ltd that obtained R31,000,300. Chigogwana’s interests in Kumba were represented by former Access Finance senior executive Elton Chitondo before he resigned from the company, according to company documents.
Currently, Refiloe Etsane, Access Finance chief strategy officer, represents Chigogwana’s interests in Kumba as a director.
In Agile, Chigogwana is a director himself.
Wicknell Chivayo
The report shows Chigogwana’s companies were conduits of transferring some of the money for Chivayo for different activities and also changing it from one currency to another.
Chigogwana’s companies would charge transaction fees and reap the arbitrage dividend from that.
When Chivayo received millions in Johannesburg in rands, he would approach companies like Chigogwana’s convert it back into United States dollars, the original currency of operation, for use in Zimbabwe and elsewhere.
Much of the transactions were conducted via Hawala transfer, by which no physical movement of currency takes place.
The Zimbabwean government paid R1.2 billion to Ren-Form CCC, the South African company which won the elections printing tender in 2023, which in turn transferred a huge part of the funds – R800 million – to Chivayo, their broker in the deal.
Ren-Form has confirmed Chivayo is their broker.
Ren-Form did not directly address the money trail outlined in the SAFIC report but maintained its relationship with Chivayo was above board.
Chivayo reportedly spent some of the funds on luxury goods and properties in South Africa, Zimbabwe, United States, United Kingdom, China, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
He has reportedly spent at least R36.5 million on luxury vehicles with some Zimbabwean media reports claiming that vehicles were later donated to politically connected individuals.
Approached for comment, Chivayo has told media that his agreements with Ren-Form are commercial and “confidential”, while payments “are not legally untenable”.
Chivayo denied any wrongdoing.
Large sums of money were paid into Chivayo’s personal and business bank accounts through his companies, Intratrek Holdings (Pty) Ltd, Edenbreeze (Pty) Ltd, Dolintel Trading Enterprise CC, and WC Trading (Pty) Ltd.
About R232 million went through these companies.
Edenbreeze alone received R156 million.
Intratrek Holdings and Dolintel handled most of the R800 million.