Businessman Ofer Sivan and his personal assistant Cassandra Myburg are back in court on fraud allegations involving over US$760 000 and $22 million in local currency as they have been indicted to stand trial at the High Court on November 22 to November 24.
The two are accused of conniving and forged the signatures of businessman Gilad Shabtai on the Stanbic Bank account opening forms resulting in accounts being opened and receiving business funds which Sivan allegedly diverted to his own benefit.
The two were removed from remand by a Harare magistrate but the State conducted further investigations resulting in the indictment.
It is alleged that on September 23 2020, Sivan and Myburgh a plan to
defraud Gilad Shabtai and went to Stanbic Bank Borrowdale branch where they allegedly collected account opening forms with the intention to open bank accounts in the name of Adlecraft Investment Pvt Ltd without his knowledge and consent.
Allegations are that after the completion of the forms by Myburgh, the two working in connivance forged the signature of
Shabtai.
Myburgh allegedly signed as a witness and Sivan signed in his capacity as one of the
directors of the company and allegedly delivered the account opening forms to Stanbic Bank, misrepresenting
that Adlecraft Investments and its directors had agreed to open the account yet they knew the signatures on the documents had not been made by Shabtai.
Further allegations are that on September 29 2021 the two misrepresented to Stanbic Bank by tendering a company resolution with a forged signature of purporting that it had been resolved that Sivan would be the sole signatory to the new bank account which they had opened without the knowledge of Adlecraft Investments Pvt Ltd and Shabtai and the bank opened two accounts.
Reports are that the offence came to light in November 2021 when Munyaradzi
Gonyora who is one of the Directors of Adlecraft Investments Pvt Ltd perused some documents furnished to the company after the company was placed
under company rescue and discovered that the signature of Shabtai had been forged basing on the dates on the documents.
Shabtai was reportedly out of the country when the forms were signed.
This prompted Munyaradzi Gonyora to report the matter to the Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption Commission and questioned document examiners confirmed that the signature of Shabtai on the Stanbic Bank Account opening forms had been forged.
Claims are that the Adlecraft Investments Pvt Ltd forex account opened by the
two received business funds between December 24 2020 to March 8 2022 amounting to US$817 147,98.
Sivan as the sole signatory to the account allegedly diverted US$762 983.06 for his
personal benefit and $22 359 513,14 from the local currency account.