Tendai Biti Under Investigations For US$231k Fraud

Harare | For Tendai Biti, a senior member of the Citizen for Coalition for Change (CCC) who is deeply troubled, it never rains but pours.

The erratic former lawmaker is entangled in a purported US$231,000 fraud scandal.

According to this newspaper, Biti is the subject of an investigation by the CID Commercial Crimes Unit about two connected cases that were submitted to Milton Park police with the reference numbers CR76/11/22 and ER 135/22.

Businessmen Piwai Chiutsi and Tendai Mashamanda, director of Mashwede Holdings, are the complainants in relation to the attachment of a property at 41 Ridgeway North in Harare.

A communiqué sent on October 30 by Detective Chief Inspector Acting Commanding Officer Team 1 (Commercial Crimes Division N/R CID) Mabasa S. was seen by Express Mail Zim.

Biti allegedly faked a Special Power of Attorney and told Chiutsi and Mashamanda that businessman Elliot Rogers, headquartered in the United Kingdom, had given him instructions to take money from Chiutsi.

Our reliable sources tell us that Chiutsi owes Rogers $125,000 USD.

Our source stated, “Biti was then paid US$231000 including interest and taxed legal fees.”

He purportedly wilfully failed to make any payment to Rogers.

The forged special power of attorney that Biti used to attach the aforementioned property was disowned by Rogers.

Our informant claims that Biti went on to fake numerous documents while posing as Rogers.

The issue, which was originally raised in 2020, was revived last week.

Court documents obtained by this publication state that Biti allegedly used Constantine Chaza as his proxy and submitted a fictitious special power of attorney to Eliot Rogers on February 26, 2020, at the High Court in Harare. Tendai Mashamhanda was the other party to the case.

In response to the alleged deception, the court took action and permitted the files to be filed.

After Mashamhanda was able to get in touch with Rogers in the UK, who denied handing Biti any kind of power of attorney, the situation became public and was reported to the police.

Significant differences were found between the special power of attorney that Elliot had previously signed and the paper that the CID Forensic Labaratory examined for examination.

It was established that different people wrote the signatures.

Biti has been entangled in purported massive corruption schemes previously.

He was involved in an alleged US$30 million scandal in 2022 after it came to light that, while serving as GNU’s finance minister, he had given NSSA instructions to put money into two failing banks.