Published: 2 hours ago

The Harare Magistrates' Court has begun hearing the trial of four men, including two Nigerian nationals, accused of hacking the email account of a Grain Marketing Board (GMB) accountant, in a scheme that allegedly caused the parastatal potential losses amounting to US$1,200,000.

Dennis Nhapata, 40, Challenge Phiri, 40, Joshua Israel, 44, and Ogbonna Simeon, 54, appeared before magistrate Francis Mapfumo facing two counts of fraud.

In their defence, Nhapata and Phiri claimed they were merely intermediaries in a transaction they believed was legitimate and denied knowledge of any fraudulent activity. Israel also denied wrongdoing, stating he was acting on instructions from his brother-in-law to collect money and awaited further directions on where to transfer it.

The State, represented by Heather Muwokoto, alleges that on September 9, 2024, the accused conspired to hack the email of Parrence Chikerema, a GMB accountant. They then used the account to send a Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) application to CBZ Bank, Selous Branch, purporting to be from Chikerema, instructing the bank to transfer US$12,000,000 from GMB's CBZ account to a Success Microfinance Treasury bank account.

CBZ Bank queried GMB about the US$1,200,000 transfer the following day, and the parastatal denied authorising it. Investigations revealed that Brain Maputo was listed as the recipient of the funds and identified Nhapata as the owner of the intended transferred money. Nhapata was arrested while waiting to collect the US$1,200,000 and implicated Phiri and Israel, who were also waiting to collect their shares. Simeon was arrested alongside them at Holiday Inn Hotel.

The second count relates to a similar incident on the same day, where the accused allegedly hacked Chikerema's email to send a ZETSS payment form to AFC Bank, Nelson Mandela Branch, instructing the transfer of US$150,000 from GMB's account to Success Microfinance Treasury. AFC Bank acted on the instruction, and the money was successfully transferred. GMB discovered the fraud the following day during inquiries at Success Bank. The US$150,000 was later recovered.

The State claims that the actions of the accused caused a potential prejudice of US$1,200,000 and an actual loss of US$150,000 to GMB.

The case was remanded to October 9, 2025, for continuation of the trial.
- online

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