Harare Man Acquitted In Alleged $69 Million NMB Bank Theft Case

A Harare man accused of stealing more than $69 million from NMB Bank after the money was mistakenly deposited into his account has been acquitted by the courts. Itai Mazambani was cleared of theft and money laundering charges after a regional court criticised investigators, prosecutors and bank officials for presenting what the magistrate described as weak and poorly assembled evidence.

Mazambani, who was represented by lawyer Admire Rubaya, had pleaded not guilty before Chief Magistrate Vongai Guwuriro. The State alleged that between 8 and 10 February 2022, Mazambani unlawfully benefited from $69,006,224.03 that had allegedly been mistakenly deposited into his NMB Bank account. Prosecutors further claimed he transferred the funds into several personal and corporate accounts before exchanging the money for United States dollars on the black market.

However, Mazambani denied controlling the account during the period in question and argued that he had no involvement in the alleged transactions. His defence team instead blamed internal failures within the bank, pointing to alleged manipulation of the account by bank staff. According to the defence, an NMB employee identified as Lyn Charlie allegedly made the initial error, which was later overlooked by a superior identified only as Ndhlumbi.

Rubaya argued that the prosecution had failed to produce reliable and properly authenticated evidence linking his client to the transactions.

“The alleged error was noticed five days later, an indication that the bank lacked strong internal systems. The bank statements relied on lacked certification,” Rubaya told the court.

In delivering judgment, Magistrate Guwuriro criticised the manner in which the case had been investigated and prosecuted.

“The State dumped everything and now wants the court to fix all the loopholes and convict the accused,” she said

The court also heard testimony from two money changers who claimed they had exchanged United States dollars with Mazambani. However, the magistrate noted that prosecutors failed to support the allegations with additional evidence such as visitor logs, CCTV footage or independent verification.

“They claimed they visited the accused to give him the US dollars, but the State was challenged to provide evidence, such as a gate book or CCTV, but there was none,” the court heard.

The prosecution further alleged that part of the disputed money had been used to pay school fees for Mazambani’s children.

But the magistrate again questioned the lack of supporting documentation.

“Surely nothing stopped them from getting the birth certificates of the pupils whose fees were paid, just to establish the full story,” Guwuriro said.

She concluded that the investigation and prosecution had been poorly handled.

“The State was a bit untidy in terms of gathering evidence in this case,” she ruled.

The acquittal is likely to reignite debate around banking controls, internal compliance systems and the handling of complex financial crime investigations in Zimbabwe.

NMB Bank Zimbabwe