By Nehanda Radio/ Nyashadzashe Ndoro
HARARE – A high-stakes investigation into alleged money laundering and externalization of funds has been launched against Rainbow Tourism Group (RTG), with top executives, including CEO MacGerald Tendai Madzivanyika, Napoleon Kudakwashe Mtukwa, Tapiwa Mari, Tichaona Gabriel Hwingwiri, Laurence Dhemba, and Shupikai Marware, facing serious allegations.
According to court documents, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) obtained a search and seizure warrant to investigate suspected money laundering activities at RTG’s head office.
The warrant authorised ZACC officers to seize payroll records, employment contracts, and other financial documents related to the top executives.
However, RTG bosses have refused to cooperate, claiming the warrant was defective and lacked specificity. The company’s lawyer advocate Thembinkosi Magwaliba argued that the investigation was a “witch hunt” and that ZACC had no evidence to support the allegations.
Despite RTG’s objections, the High Court has dismissed the company’s bid to stop the investigation, ruling that the warrant was valid and specific. Justice Deme noted that the warrant clearly identified the individuals to be searched and the specific documents to be seized.
“The names of the persons to be searched have been clearly identified. It has not been disputed that they are the employees of the applicant. To this end, the argument that the warrant is wide in its scope lacks any foundation.
“In my opinion, the issue of the previous warrant is irrelevant at this stage. The applicant must concentrate on the merits or otherwise of the warrant which is before me.
“In the absence of further evidence of the previous warrant, I see no merit in its argument especially in light of the fact that the offences in the two warrants are different,” Justice Samuel Deme ruled.
RTG has been ordered to hand over the required documents, including payroll details for the executives, covering the period from January 2022 to the present, contracts of employment for the individuals named above, and documentation and supporting paperwork for any other payments made by RTG to these individuals.
In 2023, The Sentry, “an investigative and policy organisation that seeks to disable multinational predatory networks that benefit from violent conflict, repression, and kleptocracy”, claimed that Zimbabwe loses between US$500 million and US$1 billion every year to illicit cross-border transactions
