Zim Now Writer
A Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission investigating officer, Marlon Smart Mandofa, who was arrested for criminal abuse of office, has been granted $100 000 bail on conditions and will come back to court on May 14.
Mandofa, who was represented by Admire Rubaya, is accused of shielding a fugitive, Gilad Shabtai from arrest.
Harare magistrate Stanford Mambanje ordered Mandofa to report once every Friday at Harare Central Police Station and not to interfere with witnesses.
Businessman Ofer Sirvan, who reported a case of fraud, theft of trust property, tax evasion and externalisation of US$1,3 million from Zimbabwe to South Africa, allegedly by his co-directors Gilad Shabtai and Munyaradzi Gonyora is the complainant in the matter.
Gonyora has already appeared in court, while Shabtai is still a fugitive from justice with three warrants of arrest already having been issued by two different magistrates.
On September 21, 2022, High Court judge, Justice Tawanda Chitapi ruled that Gonyora and Shabtai’s conduct was an act of fraud against Adlecraft Investments (Pvt) Ltd, in which Sirvan was a co-director.
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Justice Chitapi also ordered the two accused persons to pay back the externalised US$1,3 million to Adlecraft Investments.
However, Zacc officials reportedly ignored the issue and, instead, pursued a forgery charge filed against Sirvan by some anonymous person.
Mandofa is further alleged to have then teamed up with his accomplices and received a report from an accused person who was appearing at the Harare Magistrates’ Court on routine remand, despite the knowledge that there was a more serious case of externalisation of US$1,3 million against Gonyora and Shabtai.
He then arrested Sirvan, yet fugitive Shabtai was still being investigated under file number CID CCD DR 44/08/21.
However, Sirvan queried his arrest since he was an informant, saying Shabtai could not have contacted Zacc because he had a pending warrant of arrest by the CID.
Shabtai continued to receive preferential treatment while Sirvan was arrested despite Shabtai’s warrant of arrest having been shown to Mundofa.
Shabtai's travel history showed that he had been constantly visiting the country despite having three warrants of arrest against him.
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