Court Orders Forfeiture of Mandara Property and Toyota Hilux in NetOne Fraud Case

The High Court has ordered the forfeiture to the State of a Mandara residential stand and a Toyota Hilux after finding that the assets were acquired using proceeds of crime linked to a massive fraud by a former NetOne cashier.

Justice Benjamin Chikowero ruled that the property and vehicle were "tainted" and formed part of an elaborate scheme to conceal the proceeds of alleged criminal conduct by former NetOne cashier Daniel Kalira. Kalira is facing separate criminal charges at the Harare Magistrates Court for allegedly defrauding NetOne of over ZWL $108 million in airtime vouchers, theft of trust property, and money laundering.

The court found that a Toyota Hilux registered in the name of Charlotte Chivavarirwa, Kalira's former partner and mother of his four-year-old child, was acquired during the period of the alleged fraud. The court rejected Chivavarirwa's claim that the vehicle was bought using income from a gold mining joint venture, finding the agreement and invoices to be fictitious.

The court also found that an undivided share in Stand 913 Mandara Township, registered in the name of Harriet Kalira, Kalira's maternal grandmother, was acquired using proceeds of crime. Justice Chikowero dismissed claims that the Mandara property was bought using a gratuity allegedly sent to Harriet Kalira by a former employer abroad, describing the story as "full of loopholes."

The court ordered that the Mandara property and the Toyota Hilux be transferred to the State, with the Registrar of Deeds and the Registrar of Motor Vehicles directed to effect the changes. Each party was ordered to bear its own costs