Tobacco Board Leaders Arrested for Fraud

The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission has arrested two senior executives of the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) and charged them with fraud, reports The Sunday Mail.

TIMB chairperson Patrick Devenish and TIMB CEO Meanwell Gudu are accused of extending a loan facility of over US$494,000 to Ultime Accolade Private in May 2021 without the knowledge of the tobacco industry regulator’s board.

The pair appeared in court just a day after Gudu was acquitted of criminal abuse of office charges involving more than $2 million.

Gudu was previously charged alongside Stuart Shanyika, a former head of special services at the TIMB, and Andrew Evaristo Matibiri, a former TIMB CEO. The trio was arrested in September 2022.

The state alleged that the executives, acting in connivance, entered into private agreements with handpicked tobacco contractors.

They allegedly used funds from a TIMB loan obtained from Agribank through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to support these companies, contrary to provisions of the loan agreement.