Harare-based Chinese businesswoman Li Song, who faces several allegations of offshoring and theft of millions of US dollars, has been summoned to court for trial on May 21.
Lee, who has evaded court appearances since 2021 exploiting her alleged political connections, has been summoned to appear in court in a matter in which the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is a key witness for the state. Eagle Italian Shoes and Leather director Francesco Marconati is also a witness in the same matter after the Fed was alerted about illicit transactions to offshore bank accounts that were made without his knowledge. Lee and Marconati were business partners in the Italian shoe and leather company Eagle.
Marconatti blew the whistle on the well-organized syndicate exporting rare foreign currencies through the Federal Reserve’s foreign currency auction system. Marconatti became a victim of intimidation and arbitrary arrests after he exposed the alleged fraud, leading to him applying for a protection order as a whistleblower. Ultimately, the courts dropped some of the allegedly trumped-up charges against him.
Marconati, who runs several companies including Eagle Italian Shoes and Leather, and Strengthened Investments Private Limited among others, claims Lee illegally transferred corporate funds to her offshore bank accounts registered in Mauritius after forging documents.
He claims in his affidavit that he discovered the alleged scam sometime in 2021.
Lee was implicated because she participated in bidding on foreign currencies as if on behalf of the company but it was only for her own personal benefit.
Marconatti also discovered that Li was also using other subsidiaries namely; DGL 9 and 5, promoting investments to facilitate illicit transactions, falsifying invoices, and bidding against the foreign exchange system for raw materials that were not purchased or delivered to Zimbabwe.
He adds that further investigations revealed that Lee was using a company registered in Mauritius known as Jacaranda Consulting Services, which is an investment company by its registration status.
Marconatti then reported the matter to the RBZ who took up the matter and conducted their own investigations which led him to join the case as a complainant against L.I. Newsday
