HARARE
–
Money
transfer
company
Access
Forex
lost
US$300,000
and
R600,000
after
an
employee
at
its
Johannesburg
branch
in
South
Africa
created
ghost
remittances,
a
court
heard
on
Monday.
Grace
Makozho,
31,
appeared
before
Harare
regional
magistrate
Donald
Ndirowei
facing
charges
of
fraud,
money
laundering
and
supplying
false
information
to
a
public
authority.
She
was
remanded
in
custody
awaiting
her
bail
hearing.
The
National
Prosecuting
Authority
said
sometime
in
April
2023,
Makozho
hatched
a
plan
to
defraud
the
company.
It
is
alleged
that
she
went
on
to
create
ghost
remittances
accounts
within
the
company’s
computer
system
using
the
credentials
of
a
workmate
who
was
responsible
for
receiving
funds
from
clients
for
transfer.
The
NPA
charges:
“Accused,
after
creating
ghost
accounts
bearing
non-existent
remitters,
used
Linient
Maphosa’s
credentials
to
log
into
the
transfer
system.
“Accused
then
used
the
ghosts
accounts
to
transfer
various
amounts
from
Access
Forex
South
Africa
to
91
various
recipients
in
Zimbabwe.”
Amongst
the
recipients
were
her
alleged
accomplices
Dickson
and
Shepherd
Gweshe
who
are
still
at
large.
“Accused
would
then
instruct
the
recipients
to
withdraw
the
money
from
Access
Forex
tellers
in
Zimbabwe
and
to
handover
the
cash
to
her.
Accused
would
drive
from
South
Africa
to
Zimbabwe
to
collect
the
cash
after
being
withdrawn
by
her
recipients,”
said
prosecutor
Lancelot
Mutsokoti.
Makozho
allegedly
went
on
to
use
the
money
to
acquire
various
properties.
She
allegedly
further
deposited
some
of
the
money
she
received
from
her
recipients
into
two
bank
accounts
held
with
the
First
National
Bank
in
South
Africa.
Access
Forex
discovered
the
theft
after
carrying
out
an
audit
which
exposed
the
fake
money
transfers.
Said
Mutsokoti:
“On
April
5,
2025,
detectives
received
information
that
the
accused
person
was
at
her
home
in
Village
Kada
under
Chief
Nyajena
in
Chiredzi.
“Detectives
reacted
to
the
information
and
drove
to
Chiredzi.
Upon
arrival
they
identified
themselves
to
the
accused
and
her
parents
who
included
her
biological
father.
“The
accused
was
asked
to
identify
herself
and
she
lied
to
the
police
who
is
a
public
authority
that
her
name
was
Milicent
Kwangwari
being
a
sister
to
the
accused
who
was
being
sought
and
that
Grace
Makazho
was
in
South
Africa.
“Makozho
was
taken
to
Masvingo
rural
police
station
where
she
was
further
interviewed
and
searches
were
made.
“It
was
discovered
that
the
accused
had
lied
to
the
police
after
a
national
identity
card
bearing
her
was
found
in
her
bag.
She
later
confessed
that
she
had
lied
to
the
police.”
The
court
heard
that
the
total
value
defrauded
is
US$322,510
and
R650,000.
Nothing
has
been
recovered.