At the start of his trial on Wednesday, Wicknell Chivayo pleaded not guilty to defrauding the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) of over $5,6 million in a tender deal. He is facing charges of fraud, money laundering and breaching the Exchange Control Act.
ZPC paid $5,6 million to Intratrek Zimbabwe, in which Chivayo is a director, for pre-commencement works in the construction of a $200 million solar power plant in Gwanda. ZPC paid money to Intratrek without any advance payment bank guarantee. Once Intratrek received the money, several withdrawals were made and money moved to various accounts in personal transactions that had nothing to do with the solar project.
Shanghai Electric Power Design Institute Co. Ltd, said it had never been paid to carry out a feasibility study by Intratrek. The prosecutor said other companies that Intratrek listed as having been subcontracted either did not exist, could not be found or had signed no contract with Intratrek.
More: ZimLive.com
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