Dismay mounts as Ponzi scheme director is granted bail

Zimbabweans who invested in the pyramid scheme Bevern Capital have expressed dissapointment after learning that the only director who was arrested for running the Ponzi scheme has already been granted bail.

Richard Boutros Samunda was granted ZWL$18 000 bail following his arrest last week for violating the Banking Act which prejudiced the State of US$2 million.The state alleges that Samunda connived with Bevern Dzinoenda and Ambrose Chikukwa to setup the fraudulent scheme which promised massive returns of 50 percent in just 6 weeks on all United States Dollar investment.Lured by the prospects of easy money, unsuspecting people rushed to invest their money. There has been a huge outcry over the failed money scheme. Some had sold houses in order to invest while others had used money that they held in trust hoping they would return it after investing.

Zimbabweans rushed to invest at Bevern Capital’s branches in Kwekwe and Harare, only for the company to close down citing regulatory and compliance issues. This came after investigations by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe revealed that Bevern Capital is not registered either under the Banking Act or the Micro-Finance Act.The company is alleged to have defrauded its investors of US$2 million and nothing has been recovered yet. Samunda was arrested by the police last week and charged with contravening the Banking Act.

The other two directors of Bevern Capital, Dzinoenda and Chikukwa are yet to be apprehended.When he made his initial court appearance on Saturday, the state opposed bail arguing that Samunda would interfere with witnesses. After spending the weekend in custody, Samunda claimed in his bail application that he was only responsible for the security and was not involved in the day to day running of the business.Samunda also argued that he is not a flight risk because he owns his own home which is located in Belvedere.The magistrate seemed to agree with Samunda’s arguments and granted him $18 000 bail.