Fronts, Fakes, Façades| Our letters to authority bodies

We are pursuing accountability for the facilitators of state capture in Zimbabwe. This includes a Mauritian management company agent, UK based company administrators, South African law firms and lawyers and South African registered companies.

In July 2023, we launched our first report on State Capture beyond South African borders: Fakes, Fronts and Façades: How South African and Mauritian enablers helped move millions from Zimbabwe to Britain. The report explores how Kudakwashe Tagwirei, a politically connected Zimbabwean oil tycoon used front companies, fake invoices, and offshore financial façades to move money from Zimbabwe to the United Kingdom to buy nickel and gold mines worth a combined value of R431 million in 2019.

This report is the product of a collaborative investigation by the Sentry and Open Secrets.

Our investigation revealed that not only was this a story about Zimbabwe but about the global financial economy that creates an enabling environment for state capture. Tagwirei’s deal could not have been completed without the help of professionals in South Africa, Mauritius and the UK. We believe that some of their behaviour may have fallen short of professional standards or not met legal requirements. This is why we have written to the following regulators, professional bodies and law enforcement agencies and urged them to conduct full investigations:

• The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) “The Hawks” – South Africa
• The National Crime Agency (NCA) – UK
• The Legal Practice Council (LPC) – South Africa
• The Financial Services Commission (FSC) – Mauritius