Chiyangwa threatens investigating officers in ENG scandal

Chiyangwa threatens investigating officers in ENG scandal

CHIYANGWA

• Chiyangwa implicated in ENG scandal

• ENG directors charged with fraud

• Banks face collapse

• End of era for forex dealers

• Gono new RBZ governor

• Tea boy to national purse

• 1000 held in forex blitz

By Staff Reporter
09/01/04
A SENIOR official in President Robert Mugabe’s government implicated in the country’s biggest financial scandal ever on Thursday threatened a policeman investigating the matter, prompting a magistrate to intervene.

"As for the excited policeman, who brought up these allegations, I will deal with him at some stage," said Phillip Chiyangwa, a Member of Parliament and leading member of the notorious black empowerment organisation – the Affirmative Action Group.

He was implicated in a scandal involving the misuse of over $100 billion of investor funds by ENG Capital Asset Management. Two former directors of the company arrested at the weekend - Nyasha Watyoka, 28, and Gilbert Muponda, 32 - will know today if their bail application was successful and if they have a case to answer.

Chiyangwa was summoned by a magistrate on Wednesday to explain accusations that he tried to pervert the course of justice by trying to get the two former directors of ENG Capital released, and hiding two motor vehicles which the police say were fraudulently acquired with investor funds.

His testimony continued on Thursday.

In a rather familiar outburst, the flamboyant and wealthy businessman who donates handsomely to the ruling Zanu PF party and has been accused of vote buying on his way to winning the Chinhoyi parliamentary seat claimed he could pay the whole amount owed to investors.

“I am wealthy enough, if I wanted I could have paid ALL the ENG creditors,” he said before issuing his chilling threat apparently directed at Chief Inspector Peter Magwenzi of the Criminal Investigations Department who is investigating the ENG case.

He defied the magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe who asked him to withdraw his unspecified threat to the policeman.

He blasted: "Right now I am on front pages of newspapers. Who is going to clear my name? I need the court to record that. Who will clear my name?"

Chiyangwa who was on Wednesday said to have a 40 percent shareholding in ENG insists that he only got involved in the company because he is a “black empowerment guru”, a reference to his leadership of the AAG. He also denies arm-twisting the police to get his way.

“There was no interference after police moved in….it would be improper to say that I interfered with police investigations," he told the magistrate.

Testifying in court on Wednesday, Inspector Magwenzi told the court that following the seizure of 18 luxury cars, the two former ENG directors had told the police that Chiyangwa had three of their cars. The police only recovered two of the cars after threatening to arrest Chiyangwa.

The two accused directors have applied to the court to be placed on bail. The magistrate will make a judgement today whether they have a case to answer.
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