The Zimbabwean government, through the Deputy Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, David Mnangagwa has stressed the confidential nature of investigations into alleged irregular financial transactions, involving controversial businessman Wicknell Chivayo.
This statement comes amidst mounting public scrutiny following reports detailing substantial fund transfers to Chivayo.
During a parliamentary session on Wednesday, Mnangagwa addressed inquiries regarding the “South African Financial Centre Report” and related allegations of irregular payments.
He clarified that information from intelligence units, such as the South African Intelligence Unit, is typically shared with the Zimbabwe Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in confidence and is not subject to public disclosure.
“If they communicate with sister organisations, the South African Intelligence would communicate with the Zimbabwe Financial Intelligence Unit. This would be in confidence and such information would not even be for our consumption as ministers,” Mnangagwa stated.
“There will be no publications that come from an intelligence unit and any communication that can be purported to be in the public domain or not in the public domain cannot be verified because these are private communications.”
The Deputy Minister’s emphasis on the confidential nature of such investigations suggests that any ongoing probe by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and law enforcement agencies will likely proceed without public updates, at least in the initial stages.
This assertion of confidentiality follows reports from South African financial intelligence sources, which allege that over US$40 million of Zimbabwean taxpayer funds, intended for election materials, were transferred to companies associated with Chivayo.
The reports, detailed in leaked documents last month, indicate that the Zimbabwe Ministry of Finance and Economic Development paid substantial amounts to South African printing company Ren-Form CC for election supplies, with a significant portion of those funds subsequently moving to Chivayo’s companies.
The reports also detailed that the South African Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) flagged Ren-Form’s bank accounts for “rapid movement of funds to various parties” following the receipt of payments from the Zimbabwean treasury.
The FIC investigation raised concerns about potential money laundering, citing round amounts being transacted, luxury purchases, and transaction activity not in line with the profiling information of the account holder.
Ex-convict Chivayo has donated over US$15 million in cash and properties to Zanu-PF supporters and artists linked to his party.
While the full extent of his income sources remains unconfirmed, publicly available information indicates that he received more than US$40 million from a contract to supply election materials for the 2023 plebiscite.
