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Prosper Dembedza Herald Correspondent

The investigating officer in the case of founder and suspected mastermind of an online Ponzi scheme called E-Creator Zhao Jiaotong (39) and his two accomplices Justin Kuchekenya and Trymore Tapfumaneyi told the court that the trio were a flight risk and are not proper candidates for bail.

Investigations established that the trio defrauded unsuspecting people across the country of US$1 million.

In opposing bail, Detective Brighton Samaneka said when they arrested Jiaotong on July 12, he was on the verge of skipping the jurisdiction of this country.

He said his aim was to place himself in a country beyond the jurisdiction of this court.

He added that Jiaotong is sitting on loads of fraudulently obtained money which gives him pressure to abscond.

Detective Samaneka said Kuchekenya is likely to abscond as he is facing a serious offence involving large sums of money.

Kuchekenya, said Det Samaneka, was the one working in the E-Creator offices at Joina City in Harare and he can be positively identified by hundreds of witnesses.

The court heard that sometime in January, Jiaotong hatched a plan to defraud unsuspecting Zimbabwean nationals through an online investment Ponzi scheme.

It is alleged that on February 7, the trio, acting in connivance with Bily Thomas Syedou, Abraham Mutambu and others who are still at large registered a company with the Zimbabwean Registrar of Companies styled E-Creator Electronic Commence Private Limited under company registration number 2853/23, with its offices situated at room 15 and 16 10 Floor Joina City in Harare.

The court heard that Jiaotong went on to launch the company as an online e-commerce operator with a global internet as its core.

During the period from February to July, the accused misrepresented to unsuspecting Zimbabwean nationals that if they invest with the company, they would enjoy huge monthly profits depending on the amount invested.

Zimbabweans across the country flocked to the company and invested up to US$1 million through various Ecocash numbers supplied on the platform by the accused.

To make the company more attractive and appealing, the accused used the media including the national television broadcaster ZBC TV, social media and powerful Zimbabwean socialites namely Tarisai Cleopatra Munetsiwa also known as Madam Boss, and Admire Mushambi also known as Mama Vee to advertise.

They also employed various agents in major towns and cities throughout the country in order to market the business.

On July 3, some of the complainants encountered challenges in accessing their funds and approached the company for clarifications.

Accused Abraham Mutambu assured the complainants that it was a system upgrade that was affecting them from accessing the funds.

He further advised them that the situation would normalize in due course. However, on July 5, complainants were shocked to realize that E-Creator Electronic Commerce Private) Limited had actually sent a notice on their website that they are no longer operating and they posted the passport photo of accused Zhao Jiatong as the one who taken their money and absconded to China.