A local businessman Offer Sivan who is facing allegations of fraud has accused his nemesis of threatening the National Prosecuting Authority not to drop his case which they found out to have no evidence by rushing to online media peddling lies.

Sivan who is jointly charged with Cassandra Myburg through their lawyers Josephine Sande and Marble Tarugarira told magistrate Stanford Mambanje that the complainant’s were using online media to publish their letters of complaints to the Judiciary in order to intimidate court officials.

Sande told court that the complainants in the matter Gilad Shabtai who is alleged to be a fugitive from justice got wind of the decision by NPA after finding no evidence in the allegations wrote letters to the prosecution threatening them not to withdraw the case, the complaint they say was leaked to online media.

“After it was published in the media that the NPA had decided an intent to withdraw all charges against Sivan and Myburg the complainant’s lawyer in a desperate attempt to delay the inevitable using the media to try and intimidate and influence the NPA decision to finalize the case since there was no evidence,” Sande said.

Sande told court that it was suprising that Shabtai who was avoind the law how he could be entertained by the justice system.

“It is also now clear to all involved that there are no merits, facts or truth to any allegations, and were simply made in an attempt to tarnish the names of respectful business people to cause personal damage, prejudice and defamation as well as a desperate attempt to divert attention from the criminal offences committed by Shabtai.”

Sande said the court should remove the duo from remand as the court had made a commitment that they will not entertain any further remand.

“The prosecution was given an order that on the return date, they should either proceed to trial or withdraw the case,” Sande submits.

But the State represented by Lancelot Mutsokoti opposed the application for removal from remand saying the docket was now with the prosecution head office and that on August 16 they will be furnished with a trial date.

However magistrate Mambanje dismissed the application and gave another order that if they failed to provide a trial date on the next remand date they will remove him from remand.

Mambanje said it was clear that Sivan and Myburg religiously appear before the court.

The court heard that Shabtai has been hiding out of the country where he is alleged to have been there on health grounds.

Last year, Sivan reported Shabtai and his friend Munyaradzi Gonyora to police on fraud involving US$1, 3 million.

Gonyora was arrested but under unclear circumstances he was removed from remand a month after his arrest.

-Newsday