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Crime Reporter

Lawyers representing one of the suspects, Moses Banda believed to be behind the $22 million fraud at TM Pick n Pay through its account at Steward Bank, yesterday said their client had no pending cases in court and denied allegations that he was a habitual criminal who has been on the police wanted list since 2008 for multiple fraud cases.

In a statement yesterday, Mr Luckymore Mauwa of Mauwa and Associates Legal Practitioners said Banda was a law-abiding citizen, who does not “even have any pending case before the courts”.

Mr Mauwa said The Herald’s sources depended on the information, which comes from implication by another person who has “just thrown our client’s name just to soil his name and reputation”.

Last week, two suspected fraudsters appeared in court on allegations of defrauding TM Pick n Pay of $22 million after misrepresenting as TM Pick n Pay finance managers.

Tonderai Selesio Chagweda (28) and Wellington Jombe (34) were facing fraud charges when they appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Richard Mangosi.

Mr Lancelot Mutsokoti prosecuted.

He further submitted that they were likely going to abscond if granted bail.

The court heard that Chagweda and Jombe, working in connivance with Ronald Mudzingwa and Moses Banda who are still at large, hatched a plan to defraud TM Pick n Pay and created an email address Raymondmatsetswa@Tm/supermarkets.com and passed themselves off TM finance manager, Raymond Matsetswa.

They also posed as Gamuchirai Nyamuzinga, the chief finance officer.

It is alleged the two sent an email to Steward Bank with instruction forms with forged signatures of Matsetswa and Nyamuzinga instructing the bank to process and debit TM Supermarkets’ Steward Bank account to four different transactions amounting to $22 million.

The complainant, without noting the difference of the email address, authorised and processed the transaction.

The offence came to light on March 3, when TM Supermarkets head office disputed some of the transactions on their account.