SA regulators probe Zimbabwean socialite for money laundering

South African financial regulators are probing a Johannesburg printing company for possible money laundering offences linked to a kickback scandal in Zimbabwe, reports the Daily Maverick. Last year, an article by The Sentry and Open Secrets in the DM uncovered how the firm Ren-Form supplied over-priced election materials to Zimbabwe in partnership with Wicknell Chivayo, a politically-connected tenderpreneur accused of making payments to mystery officials in Harare. Zimbabwe’s Anti-Corruption Commission launched an investigation after The NewsHawks newspaper revealed that Ren-Form had invoiced the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) R23m for a server that normally costs R90 000, and charged R68 700 for portable toilets which retail for about R10 000 per unit. Chivayo was recorded discussing the sharing of the proceeds of the ZEC tender with Zimbabwean officials, referred to by their initials or code names. Now, a leaked investigation report sent from SA’s Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) to its counterpart in Zimbabwe has uncovered just how much the ZEC paid Ren-Form and how much the printing firm, in turn, paid its agent: ‘Ren-Form received over R1bn from the Zimbabwe Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. More than R800m was transferred to the business bank accounts of Wicknell Chivayo.’ The FIC report analysed bank accounts belonging to Ren-Form and Chivayo, finding that Chivayo’s businesses frequently transferred money on to his personal accounts.

Chivayo is a larger-than-life socialite often seen in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s company. He is also known for a luxury fleet of cars, including some he has gifted to politically connected individuals in Zimbabwe. According to the DM, the FIC report identified R36.5m in payments from Chivayo’s Standard Bank account between January 2023 and September 2024 that ‘appear to be payments towards car purchases’. The revelation that eight in 10 rands sent to Ren-Form by the Zimbabwean Government were passed on to Chivayo’s business bank accounts will raise new questions about the purpose of those commission payments. The leaked investigation, originally obtained by Zimbabwean media outlet ZimLive, names some of the recipients of Chivayo’s funds. They include entities controlled by businessmen allegedly linked to the remittance payment industry in Zimbabwe, suggesting some of those funds may have found their way back to Harare. The report also shows how, in addition to paying Ren-Form, Zimbabwe’s Finance Ministry also paid R157m directly to Chivayo’s South African-registered firm, Edenbreeze. These payments occurred in July and September 2024, after the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission announced its investigation. That probe has apparently stalled.

Full Daily Maverick report