A Kenyan national has been charged with fraud in a Harare court for allegedly hacking into the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (Zimdef) and stealing $120 million from its bank accounts.
If found guilty, Primrose Nyeri Mwangi, 40, who is also the director of Primkett Travels, could face significant prison time.
According to the prosecution, Mwangi conspired with two other individuals to gain access to Zimdef’s computer systems and use authorization codes to transfer large sums of money to their own accounts in December 2022.
According to Zimbabwean news outlets, the prosecution asserted on Tuesday, January 10, that between December 1 and December 29 of last year, Mwangi collaborated with Gerald Pondai, Prosper Hove, and other members of their syndicate to gain access to Zimdef’s computer data systems and, as a result, to Zimdef’s ZB Bank and CBZ accounts.
Only $30,000 of the stolen funds have been recovered so far after the National Building Society cancelled one of the transactions.
The scheme was unearthed on December 28 after a whistleblower detailed the deception in an email to Zimdef.
According to bank records, $120 million was taken from CBZ Bank and Zimdef ZB Bank accounts, with $30,000 recovered thanks to the cancelled transaction.
Mwangi is also accused of violating the terms of her visitor’s entry certificate, which only allowed her to stay in the country for one month as a tourist between December 14 and January 14.
It is unclear how Mwangi and her associates gained access to the Zimdef systems or used the authorization codes to transfer the funds. The investigation is ongoing, and more information is expected to emerge as the investigation progresses.
