Islamic interests under direction of South African con artist are defrauding Zimbabwe

Ruthless Islamic interests under the direction of infamous South African con artist Zunaid Moti are defrauding the helpless nation of Zimbabwe, with inside help from senior government officials.

A Russian businessman is the latest victim of what is apparently a running scam by Moti.

Moti uses a diamond as false security in risky business deals to lure investors. The Russian invested in Moti’s Zimbabwe ferrochrome operation, only to discover it was a bogus company.

Naturally, when the diamond disappeared (along with Moti), Interpol became involved, eventually issuing four “red” arrest warrants for Moti and his associates. Courts in South Africa ruled against Moti, deciding to keep him on Interpol’s “Most Wanted” list.

Moti’s greatest scams include alleged attempted murder using his own private army, and ripping off Investec Bank for R1.5 billion for a proposed luxury development that Moti never built.

When confronted about the murder charge in an interview by MoneyWeb’s Alec Hogg, Moti was clearly confident he would escape unscathed. “The Muslim community is very tight,” Hogg said, dealing with the elephant in the room.

Moti arrogantly replied: “Ja [yes] … They can write whatever they want, the community [Muslim] is behind us.”

Unlike Moti’s previous scams, more than a shady business deal is involved where Zimbabwe is concerned; with inside government influence, a military or economic “coup” might be the next big “sting” for Moti and his associates.

Meet Zimbabawe Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the man on the inside. Influential political allies of Mnangagwa warn of a military coup if he is not allowed to take power from 34-year President Robert Mugabe.

“While a military takeover may be farfetched in Zimbabwe, it is important for President Mugabe to be careful in naming his successor. Any suspicion of unfairness … may backfire. Any successor without the backing of the army will therefore be rejected,” stated a Mnangagwa political supporter.

Mnangagwa is involved in a long list of ‘Ponzi schemes’ costing Zimbabwe’s government millions and the latest is linked to Moti.

The former Communist revolutionary is now under investigation by the country’s cabinet for illegally giving Moti unlimited “duty-free” import rights for fuel. “So for African Chrome Fields [Moti] to get 12 million litres of diesel duty-free and Sakunda 300 million litres under this statutory instrument is corrupt and unlawful,” one government official said this week.

Prior to sponsoring Moti’s $200 million dollar black hole, Mnangagwa backed traditional “healer” Rotina Mavhunga, who got Zimbabwe’s Cabinet to believe she could conjure pure diesel out of a rock, ending the nation’s fuel crisis.

Mugabe’s wife strongly opposes Mnangagwa, but the army threatened an uprising in June, 2017, if she was not subdued.

The continued cooperation of Mnangagwa, and the growing possibility of violent conflict following Mugabe’s death, make a Moti-engineered Zimbabwe “spring” increasingly plausible.

Moti’s considerable ties to the Islamic community, and his private army of unregistered foreign nationals (many from Zimbabwe) are also significant factors.

Moti’s private security force shut down Silverstar Casino in November, 2011, in the alleged attempted murder of Naemm Cassim. Moti’s business partner Rafik Mohamed owed Cassim R38000 and texts between Mohamed’s son and Cassim obtained by British authorities reveal repeated death threats.

Rafik and Moti were both present the night of the casino raid, at which time three attempts were made on Cassim’s life.

Forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan said the following in a 2012 interview:

There were gunmen there and the so-called bodyguards of his [Moti] who are employees of a company called Mazhuwi Protection Services …

And although the company itself is registered with the private security industry regulatory authority, 90% of its employees are not. In fact, they are foreign nationals from either the DRC or Angola or Mozambique or Zimbabwe or Namibia, and for the most part they are thugs. And he has his own private army. The cars are equipped with sirens and blue lights and they escort him [Moti] around as if he’s a police minister, which clearly he’s not.

The consistent Islamic flavor of similar uprisings in Libya, Egypt and Syria, make Moti’s private army and his history of criminal and violent behavior, possible cause for concern.

While the government of Zimbabwe is objectively oppressive and undemocratic, most foreign policy experts oppose a coup d’etat — citing the bedrock “devil we know” policy. The same approach was the basis for America’s strategic tolerance of the Gaddafi regime for more than 30 years. All nation-building efforts in the last 8 years were abject failures.

Interpol is still pursuing Moti and his associates, who claim that the Interpol “red” warrants issued are invalid.

The accused also claim that the Interpol warrants are motivated by sour grapes, but there is clear evidence their Russian victim owned 50 percent of their bogus company, a fact Moti forgets to mention.

The convenient claims of the accused lose all plausibility, when recalling they left in a hurry, and fled to South Africa. The “innocent” rarely make a run for it.

So long as the suspects refuse to submit to universal norms under international law, they will continue to pose an existential threat to Zimbabwe and its people.