A Zimbabwean man linked to the notorious Beven Capital Ponzi scheme has been extradited from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to face charges at home.
Shepherd Chibaya, 36, was tracked down by Interpol and arrested in the UAE before being handed over to Zimbabwean authorities.
He now faces multiple counts of fraud, impersonation and theft by deception after years on the run.
Chibaya is accused of being one of the founders of Beven Capital, a scheme that lured members of the public with promises of 50 per cent returns in just six weeks before disappearing with investors’ money.
Instead of assisting victims to recover their losses, prosecutors say Chibaya exploited them further by posing as a medical doctor at Parirenyatwa and Parktown Hospitals and claiming to have insider connections with the fund’s management.
On the strength of these falsehoods, he was even appointed chairman of a group of defrauded investors.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Chibaya allegedly defrauded several complainants between 2020 and 2021.
In one case, he conned a female investor of nearly US$98,000 by inventing stories about taxes, police bribes and legal fees.
He allegedly impersonated a police officer, staged his own arrest, and later faked his death. Investigators also traced a stolen Samsung S20 cellphone back to him.
In another instance in 2021, Chibaya allegedly duped a second complainant of US$850 after demanding so-called “tax fees” that he claimed were required to release Beven Capital funds.
A third investor is said to have lost US$2,000 after Chibaya promised to recover a US$30,000 investment.
Prosecutors say he collected the money while pretending to be “on duty” as a doctor.
Chibaya appeared in court this week and has been remanded in custody pending trial.
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