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Harare Bureau
RED Queen Trading (Pvt) Ltd director Reginald Dawson who allegedly swindled his business partner of $650,000 and R600,000 before externalising the money, has appeared in court and ordered to pay $2,500 bail. Dawson, 67, of Riverside in Bulawayo, appeared before Harare magistrate Donald Ndirowei on Monday. He is facing fraud charges and two counts of contravening the Exchange Control Act.  Ndirowei remanded Dawson to August 25 and ordered him to pay $250,000 as surety through the Clerk of Court.   The complainant in the matter is Josias Moyo, 63, who is also a co-director of Red Queen Trading (Pvt) Ltd and owns 33,3 percent of the company shares.

The court heard that Red Queen Trading (Pvt) Ltd is a duly registered company in the business of importing and distributing fuel throughout the country and is under liquidation.  Prosecutor Farai Gatsi alleged that on January 1, 2004, Moyo became a shareholder and director of Red Queen Trading (Pvt) Ltd.  It is alleged that on October 1, 2005, Dawson entered into a lease agreement with a South African company, Sasfuel and Chem (Pty) for Red Queen Trading (Pvt) Ltd to lease its fuel depot in Beitbridge, seven trucks and tankers with effect from October 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006.  Dawson instructed Sasfuel and Chem (Pty) to pay rentals to Sasol in South Africa and the monthly rentals totalling R600,000 were paid in Johannesburg, without clearance from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.

It is alleged that on March 31, 2006, Dawson connived with his accomplice only identified as Susan who is still at large and misrepresented to Sasfuel and Chem (Pty) Ltd that he was the only shareholder and sold the leased property for $650,000.  The court heard that the money was paid into Dawson’s Barclays Bank Francistown branch account number 5423278 without clearance from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe.