TWO directors of Hilmax appeared before Harare magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa on Wednesday to answer to seven counts of fraud.
They allegedly defrauded Zimbabwe Revenue Authority of R10 755 880 through forging bills of entry.
Rugare Murwira and Patrick Musavaya were being represented by Nelson Mashizha of Mashizha, Mutukwa and Sambo Business Attorneys.
The magistrate granted the two US$500 bail each and ordered them not to interfere with State witnesses.
They will return to court on March 14 for routine remand.
State prosecutor Anesu Chirenje alleged that between January and April 2021, the two applied for R1 870 073,35 through Stanbic Bank on the pretext that they wanted to purchase stock from Hydraulic Centre (Pvt) Ltd in South Africa.
A payment of R1 870 073,35 was made to Hydraulic Centre through its First Rand Bank Ltd account.
The court heard that the two misrepresented that they had imported goods from South Africa to Zimbabwe, but investigations revealed that they forged a bill of entry and a release order in order acquit the funds.
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Following this illicit act, the two used bill of entry number (C26786) Beitbridge Custom House dated April 22, 2021 which was assigned to Breastplate Services (Pvt) Ltd when it purchased tyre polish sheenex from South Africa through the Beitbridge Border Post and they backdated it to March 16, 2021.
Court documents state that investigations showed that on acquittal of payment, the two misrepresented that they had imported goods from South Africa yet nothing was imported.
It was further alleged that they forged another bill of entry and a release order, where they used bill of entry number (C39444) backdated it to June 10, 2021, which had been allocated to Shonhai Surprise (Pvt) Ltd when the later purchased motor vehicle accessories from South Africa through the Beitbridge Border Post.
In another count, in August 2021, the two through their company made another application through Stanbic Bank for R1 863 382,98 saying they wanted to purchase stock from Hydraulic Centre (Pvt) Ltd in South Africa.
During the period in question, payment was made with the released funds to Hydraulic Centre through its First Rand Bank Ltd account.
When effecting acquittals, the two misrepresented that they had imported goods from South Africa through Beitbridge Border Post.
Chirenje said investigations revealed that they had not imported anything into the country and that they had forged the bill of entry and release order.
In another matter, the court heard that the two used bill of entry number (C54468) dated August 12, 2021, which had been allocated to PPC Zimbabwe Limited when it purchased gypsum from South Africa through the Beitbridge Border Post.
Later, it was discovered that nothing was imported despite the funds having been released.
They forged the bill of entry and release order as they tried to acquit funds using bill of entry number (C36226), which was previously assigned to Vicrose Hardware (Pvt) Ltd when it purchased self-propelled work trucks from South Africa through the Beitbridge Border Post.
