An Innbucks shift manager is in trouble after stealing a staggering US$ 16,000 from the money transfer service.
Innbucks, owned by Simbisa Brands, a popular fast food chain, recently fell victim to the theft at its Chisipite branch in Harare. The culprit behind this scheme was identified as Webster Mavhirima, a shift manager at the establishment.
X reported that Mavhirima employed a cunning tactic by playing around with the company’s internal system, siphoning the money from the InnBucks account into his personal bank account.
His illicit activities didn’t stop there. Mavhirima collaborated with another employee named Emmanuel Manatsa, who has since gone into hiding, to further seep off company funds. Together, they orchestrated transfers totaling US$12,500 into Mavhirima’s account, exploiting their positions within the organisation for personal gain.
The theft remained undetected until the sharp eye of the company’s human resources manager caught discrepancies in the financial records dating back to January 2024. Upon closer inspection,the company discovered that Mavhirima had been making unauthorised transfers into his personal account, when there were no corresponding cash deposits.
Despite efforts to mitigate the damage, Simbisa Brands was only able to recover a fraction of the stolen funds, amounting to US$3,400.
After InnBucks discovered the crime, they reported Webster Mavhirima to the Zimbabwe Republic Police, leading to his arrest.
In the legal proceedings that followed, Rufaro Chonzi represented the State.
This is not the first time employees have ripped off money from money transfer services. In 2022, a Harare Magistrate slapped two EcoCash workers with a 9-year jail term for looting ZWL$20 million.
In 2019, another EcoCash manager Leeroy Joe stole a merchant number that belonged to a business just before he was dismissed from work and used it to make personal transactions.
SOURCE : IHARARE
