Ofer Sivan’s partners seek his arrest for allegedly lying to the High Court

Embattled businessman Ofer Sivan’s partners have written to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) asking for him to be arrested for allegedly lying to the High Court that he was the sole owner of the firm Adlecraft Investments.

This was after he allegedly lodged papers at the High Court claiming to be the only shareholder of the firm while seeking to have other shareholders Gilad Shabtai and Munyaradzi Gonyora booted out.

A report was made to ZACC and no action was reportedly taken as the commission went on to arrest Sivan on another matter of fraud which he is set to stand trial for.

Shabtai through his lawyer Admire Rubaya has written to ZACC following up on the case and to have Sivan nabbed.

They have also written to the National Prosecuting Authority, raising a complaint against Sivan for interfering with witnesses in the matter in which he is set to stand trial on March 28.

This is after Sivan caused the arrest of investigator Smart Mandofa for arresting him in a fraud case awaiting trial at the High Court.

In a letter dated March 23 and addressed to Acting Prosecutor General Nelson Mutsonziwa, Shabtai through his lawyers views Ofer’s actions together with detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Commercial Crimes Unit (CCU) which he allegedly claims to control as interference with witnesses in the matter set to be heard next week and asking for sanction against them.

In a letter to Zacc, Shabtai appealed to the commission to follow up on the case.

“The above matter refers and in particular the criminal complaint which was lodged against Mr Ofer Sivan for unlawfully and intentionally misrepresenting to the High Court of Zimbabwe in his founding and opposing Affidavits in relation to Case Numbers HC 5436/21, HC 550/21, HC 4711/21 and HC 4541/21 that he was a 100% Shareholder of Adlecraft Investments (Pvt) Ltd.

“The company Adlecraft Investments (Pvt) Ltd’s shareholding is as clearly set out in the Zimbabwe Investments Authority Certificate wherein Adelcraft Holdings (Pvt) Ltd holds (49%), Munyaradzi Dicken Gonyora holds (10%), Razaro Mapuwapuwa holds (10%), Stephen Itai Mangoda (10%), Chance Citima holds (10%) Adelcraft Workers Trust (11%).

“Our clients instruct us to plead with you to follow up on the matter because it seems as if that matter died a natural death the moment Ofer Sivan was indicted to the High Court on the basis of the Stanbic fraud charge. In order to make sure that Ofer Sivan does not escape from either of the two possible fraud charges enunciated above, he ought to be charged in alternative of the other,” the lawyers wrote.

To NPA, Shabtai alleges Sivan is interfering with witnesses and threatening them with arrest through detectives from the CCU.

“We write to advise that Ofer Sivan has interfered with State witnesses. . .

“Our client, Mr Gilad Shabtai, has been taken aback and left infuriated by such unscrupulous conduct of the accused (Sivan).

“It is brazenly clear in the circumstances that the purported criminal complaint lodged by Ofer Sivan and the subsequent arrest of Assistant Inspector Mandofa are designed to obstruct the course of the criminal trial proceedings which trial is supposed to continue on the 28th of March 2023,” the letter reads.

The lawyers said the arrest of the investigator, Mandofa, has instilled fear in the witnesses, Shabtai and Gonyora who have been threatened with arrest.

“The arrest of Smart Mandofa has instilled fear in our clients Mr. Gilad Shabtai and Munyaradzi Gonyora on the basis that the accused person has communicated to them via some Israeli emissaries that Ofer Sivan allegedly controls the levers of power in Zimbabwe to the extent that if they come to this jurisdiction, they will be arrested in relation to an alleged Fraud, Externalisation and Money Laundering of US$1,3 million through Getbucks,” they said.

There are also reports that there are extant warrants of apprehension against Shabtai which have since been challenged as illegal.

“Furthermore, there has been an allegation that there are extant warrants of apprehension against our client, Mr. Gilad Shabtai. We seek your legal opinion on the validity of the alleged warrants of apprehension.

“We urge you to consider that in terms of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, there is no longer a provision that provides for a Warrant of Apprehension since the repealing of all the provisions which previously related to warrants of apprehension,” the letter read.

Shabtai also seeks security for him and Gonyora if they come to Zimbabwe to testify.

“We are therefore instructed to seek confirmation that our clients are safe to come to Zimbabwe and they will not be harassed by law enforcement agents particularly by the members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police where Ofer Sivan is alleged to have some control particularly in relation to officers from the Commercial Crimes Unit, Harare Province.”