Who is next up for arrest as externalisation crackdown tightens?

ZimNow Analysis Desk

24-year-old Harare forex dealer facilitator Simbarashe Dzimba was recently arraigned for allegedly arranging nearly US$188,000 in offshore payments to Turkey without Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe approval. On the surface, it looks like a small case. But it signals something far larger: practices once treated as normal are now criminal.

And today, the pressure intensifies as businessman Grant Chitate returns to court accused of externalizing US$7.6 million in LP gas import payments. His is the biggest case yet in a growing wave of prosecutions.

Cases Defining the 2025 Crackdown

You May Be Next

The warning embedded in these arrests is blunt: you may be next. This is not about fraudsters or crooks—it is about survival mechanisms now being shut down.

The cases above are not outliers. For years, businesses and families alike relied on informal channels: pay in local or other currency here, and have a counterpart settle offshore. It was the grease that kept the wheels turning in a volatile economy.

But authorities are now moving to stop those arrangements, as legally they are violations of the Exchange Control Act, punishable by fines, seizures, and even jail.

Why Businesses Turned to Alternatives

Access to foreign currency through official channels has been a huge challenge in Zimbabwe for years. When the RBZ foreign currency auction system launched in 2020, it was meant to provide a fair, transparent way to access forex. In reality, however:

• Allocations were often too small to cover actual import needs.
• Disbursements were delayed, leaving suppliers unpaid.
• Sector prioritization shut out smaller players.

In the same way, individuals who should be able to walk into a bureau de change or bank and get some small allowances cannot access the cash

The result was predictable: companies and households turned to parallel settlement methods. These kept factories open, shops stocked, and children in school abroad—but they also entrenched externalization as everyday practice.

The Free Funds Factor

Zimbabwe’s economy runs on free funds—forex from exporters, diaspora remittances, NGOs, and individuals. Much of it used to flow into the parallel market, where businesses desperate for forex were ready buyers.

But with authorities tightening the screws:

• Businesses won’t risk informal channels if police and RBZ can demand proof of payment.
• Free funds will increasingly flow to official dealers—banks, bureaus, and the auction.
• Hard cash may be carried abroad directly for small imports, but the big-ticket demand that sustained the black market will shrink.

The RBZ is betting this will stabilize the Zim dollar and narrow exchange rate gaps.

Will Compliance Deliver Stability?

If businesses comply, the system should, in theory:

• Channel forex through official platforms.
• Boost confidence in the local currency.
• Bring rates closer to equilibrium.

But the outcome depends on RBZ’s muscle. The bank has announced reserves of about US$1.5 billion—enough to cover 4–5 months of imports on paper. The private sector, however, doubts whether those funds are accessible quickly and fairly.

If allocations remain small or delayed, compliance could mean stock shortages, higher local prices, and reduced competitiveness—not because firms are cheating, but because they are stuck waiting for forex.

New actors, old script

Zimbabweans have seen this movie before. In the early 2000s, executives from Telecel, Treger Group, and businessman James Makamba were arrested under the same Exchange Control Act. Then, as now, authorities moved to stamp out externalization in the name of currency stability.

Just as in the past, the state which was turning a blind eye to survival tactics, has now decided to throw the rule book into play. For those caught out, there is a price to pay.

ZimNow Take

The arrests of Dzimba, Vorivet, the Harare businesswoman, and now Chitate are a clear warning: yesterday’s workaround is a crime, and we will likely see more arrests as the clampdown continues. For business owners and managers, the question is no longer whether you can find forex outside the system. The question is whether you can afford to gamble with your freedom. Compliance may buy stability—or it may expose the gaps in Zimbabwe’s official forex supply. Either way, the old normal is gone.

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