ZACC Engages Its American, European And South African Counterparts Over Wealth Hidden Abroad
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), with assistance from its American, South African, and European counterparts, is now targeting corruptly acquired properties and wealth hidden outside the country.
ZACC commissioner Kuviwa Murapa said they enlisted legal services in the above-mentioned territories to repossess the properties, without naming targeted individuals, according to NewZimbabwe.com.
Murapa was speaking at an ongoing workshop on progress made in the fight against corruption, facilitated by parliament and funded by the African Parliamentarians’ Network Against Corruption (APNAC). Said Murapa:
“The commission has now adopted a strategy that for each criminal inquiry there should be a parallel asset inquiry as well,” said Murapa.
In the countries neighbouring and abroad, the commission has enlisted mutual legal assistance from those jurisdictions to recover assets originating from this country that are parked in those jurisdictions, financial houses, in land, buildings and equipment.
It is through in the public domain that through these efforts, assets worth R14 million have been accounted for in South Africa, but that is not all.
We continue to investigate and as we do, we are now close to finalising assets of former high ranking civil servants who parked Zimbabwean assets in South Africa.
Murapa added that ZACC had identified a number of private assets as well whose source of investment income cannot be sufficiently explained, nor are there any tax declarations on these investments either with ZINARA or tax authorities in those countries. He added:
In this regard SARS, and other tax authorities in America and Europe are assisting ZACC in identifying and possible forfeiture of those assets.
Exiled former cabinet ministers and ZANU PF top officials, Saviour Kasukuwere, Walter Mzembi, Patrick Zhuwao, Godfrey Gandawa, Professor Jonathan Moyo, and former police chief Augustine Chihuri reportedly own massive tracts of land, buildings, high end vehicles and offshore accounts accumulated under late President Robert Mugabe.
To date US$56 million worth of properties has been repossessed by the state.
Zimbabwe is reportedly losing over US$2 billion through corruption each year.
