Former first lady Grace Mugabe and her family are reported to have used former President Robert Mugabe’s numerous foreign trips to appropriate millions of dollars from the treasury. According to weekly publication, the Independent, Grace would sometimes demand millions of dollars from Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa who would always comply with her requests.
A senior Treasury official who spoke to the Independent said:
On one occasion this year, for instance, his wife took about US$3,5 million during a foreign trip. There is also another example; the money used to buy their mansion in Sandhurst, Sandton, Johannesburg in South Africa came from public funds through local banks. At one point Grace also demanded that Patrick Chinamasa (who was Finance minister and still is) buys cars for her and he had to find the money.
These are just a few examples, but there was a pattern of systematic looting of public funds. Ministry of Finance and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe officials know this.
More: The Independent
