ISRAELI billionaire and Shabtai Group of Companies president, Mr Gilad Shabtai is under investigations on allegations that he conned the President Emmerson Mnangagwa and made him believe that he was a new investor yet he was in the country for over 10 years.
Gilad Shabtai, took advantage of the Second Republic’s policy and mantra of ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’ and pursuit of garnering for foreign direct investments and hoodwinked Mnangagwa that he had just flew from Israel to invest, yet he has been operating in the country for more than a decade.
These revelations were made in a scathing letter directed to Zimbabwe Anti Corruption (Zacc) boss Loice Matanda-Moyo and authored by his erstwhile business partner Offer Sivan.
The letter also exposed that Shabtai has pending cases that need prosecution and this forced him to skip the country feigning illness and base his absconding of court on ‘health grounds’.
“Shabtai has been in the country for 11 years before presenting himself to President Emmerson Mnangagwa as a foreign investor.
“Gilad Shabtai, is a fugitive of justice and has several dockets pending before the Criminal courts and cannot purport to be clean when approaching your office (Zacc).His hands are dirty, ” read part of the letter that was sent to Matanda-Moyo by Tarugarira Sande Attorneys who were instructed by top businessman Offer Sivan who runs Adelcraft.
It is further alleged that Shabtai was making relentless attempts to delay the finalisation of a”frivolous and vexatious” case against Sivan and one C Myburg.
He has used his alleged front Munyaradzi Gonyora to be a ‘rabble rouser’ and he has also fled the country and not availed himself to court. Express Mail Zim publishes hereunder detailed exercepts of the report directed to ZACC: “It is a sad day for justice as an unwarranted three week delay to the finalization of the frivolous and vexatious case against O Sivan and C Myburg has been yet again caused by Shabtai is avoiding answering to the police after he escaped the country despite telling the police investigators that he will avail himself as soon as his “health” will allow it.
“However the outcome does hold some very interesting and valid questions brought up by the presiding Magistrate.
” The magistrate ruled that due to the continued prejudice to the two accused persons in the continual remand of the matter with no trial date being set, added to the emotional trauma, financial prejudice, the time taken away from them focusing on the business they are running, and the defamatory inflictions published by the media, the prosecution was given an order that on the next remand date, they should either proceed to trial or withdraw the case against the accused persons.
“The Magistrate also indicated that removal from remand will most definitely be considered on the next remand date in an effort to curb the prejudice being suffered by the two.
“The Prosecution confirmed that they had reviewed the file presented before them and formed an opinion, and that they were only seeking a second opinion from their head office, giving the Magistrate just cause to have the matter heard at the earliest convenience.
“This being said the Prosecutor was not in a position to state clearly when the file had been handed over to their head office for the second opinion which begs the question, Is this really the case? Or are they bargaining for more time due to outside influences and threats made by the complainant and his lawyer.
“Sivan and Myburg have appeared before the courts at every remand date, yet the complainant himself has not made the accusations in person but rather through a third party, Munyaradzi Gonyora, and both have been hiding outside of the country for a protracted period of time.
“Should Shabtai and Gonyora avail themselves in Zimbabwe, they are set to face their day of reckoning before the courts of law as no one is above the law.
” The law must apply to all persons fairly, and our society must not tolerate protection of fugitives from justice.”
Source – Shelton Muchena