Zimbabwe lost US$1.5 billion to recorded tax crimes between January 2019 and December 2023, equivalent to 12.81% of known tax revenue, according to the 2024 Tax Crimes National Risk Assessment released by the Financial Intelligence Unit.
Total taxes owed during the period amounted to US$11.7 billion, with 1,811 tax crime cases recorded.
Of the US$1.5 billion lost, US$1.4 billion resulted from underreporting of income
- US$1.1 billion was linked to corporate income tax
- US$361 million was linked to VAT
Underreporting accounted for 1,664 of the 1,811 cases recorded. The report identifies hawala and other informal cross-border settlement systems as growing risks in the concealment of offshore income and assets.
Hawala is a trust-based value transfer system where money does not formally pass through banking channels but is settled between brokers across jurisdictions. Authorities say it is increasingly being used to conceal offshore accounts, trusts, property and foreign companies.
The outward movement of illicit funds was rated a “medium” risk.
Recent Externalisation and Offshore Payment Cases
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Difficulties in remitting money officially from Zimbabwe over the years has created fertile ground for alternative systems. Periods of foreign currency auction settlement backlogs contributed to market stress. In some cases, businesses were allocated forex on paper but faced delays before funds became usable, creating cash-flow mismatches with offshore suppliers.
Recent prosecutions illustrate enforcement focus on unauthorised cross-border payments.
| Person | Allegation | Amount Involved | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant Chitate | Alleged externalisation linked to LP gas imports without using formal forex channels | ~US$7.6 million | Before the courts |
| Kudzai Munatsi & Natash Matare | Alleged arrangement of offshore payments outside RBZ approval | ~US$1.55 million | Before the courts |
| Sun Limin | Alleged externalisation to China via informal channels | ~US$880,000 | Before the courts |
| Simbarashe Dzimba | Alleged unauthorised offshore payments to Turkey | ~US$187,800 | Before the courts |
| Ke Ji Xiao | Alleged operation of hawala system; cash recovered | US$192,575 seized | Before the courts |
All matters remain before the courts.
Zim’s Structural Compliance Gap
While hawala features prominently, the report places it within a broader tax crime landscape marked by, manipulation of sales records, failure to account for VAT on imported goods, transfer pricing abuses, non-remittance of PAYE on foreign-paid expatriate components and cash-heavy informal transactions
The overall money laundering threat was rated “medium-low,” but the risk of illicit funds leaving Zimbabwe was rated higher at “medium.”
The data suggests that the core vulnerability lies not only in underground payment systems, but in systemic underreporting and outward capital flows.
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