Kwekwe businessman, Asif Korauli, has been acquitted of charges related to the alleged sale of stolen fuel.
The director of Seven Rows Investments (Pvt) Limited, trading as Arman Petroleum, which operated the Puma (now Redan) service stations in Kwekwe, Korawili (48) was facing allegations of fraudulently obtaining 20,000 liters of diesel from a Harare company In 2020.
The allegations indicate that Korawili fraudulently obtained diesel from Mr Onesmus Kovazvini of Phoenix Oil Pvt Limited in Harare, sometime in 2020.
A fraud report was lodged at ZRP Kwekwe Central Police Station by Ms Christine Matiza alleging that Kovazvini had stolen diesel which he sold to Korawili.
On October 9, 2020, Kikwe CID investigators issued a search and seizure warrant on Korawili and directed him not to dispose of the diesel because it was to be used as an exhibit.
The application was heard at the Kwekwe Magistrate’s Court and was dismissed by the then magistrate, Mrs Florence Najo.
The matter later upset Corelli’s lawyer, Liberty Macagnari, who wrote to him advising that he could go ahead with the diesel sale since the courts had dismissed the case.
Machanyari was subsequently arrested for obstruction of justice and was later acquitted. In papers dated October 31, 2024, Judge Tembo dismissed the case stating that the warrant had since expired and therefore there was no order to revoke. The court also noted that Kovazvini, who was accused of stealing fuel sold to Korawili, has since been acquitted due to lack of evidence. Herald
