Spar loses groceries valued at ZWL$599 million to administrator
A Spar Zimbabwe administrator connived with an unemployed man to defraud his employer of ZWL$599 million after he opened an account in which he deposited funds from the Spar Customer Rewards Card facility and used it to buy groceries for his own use.
Michael Desperate Chipfupi (29) appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court facing fraud charges.
He was granted US$500 bail by Harare magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa.
His accomplice Spar Administrator Walter Danger is still at large.
Spar Zimbabwe is represented by Ian Sibanda.
Allegations are that sometime in August this year, the accused person and Walter Danger who is still at large and is employed at Spar Fife Avenue as the Branch Accounts Administrator hatched a plan to defraud the complainant by abusing Spar Customer Rewards/ Loyalty cards facility.
It is alleged that during the period extending from August 3, to the October 31, 2023, Danger who had access to Spar Customer Loyalty Card crediting facility, fraudulently created two loyalty accounts in the names of Global Horizon and Global Papers.
The state alleges that he fictitiously credited the cards with a total of ZWL$ 620 709 333.02 and gave them to Chipfupi.
Chipfupi then took the customer loyalty cards and used them to Purchase bulky groceries from Spar Montagu and Spar Helensvale supermarkets, Harare on several occasions.
On November 1, Lorrence Muchenje who is the Finance Manager of Spar Retail Zimbabwe detected that the accused persons had purchased goods worth ZWL$ 599 709 333.02 using the fraudulently credited loyalty cards.
The accused was arrested whilst attempting to purchase groceries at Spar Montagu supermarket using Global Horizon loyalty card number 300000908947 which was subsequently recovered from him with a balance of ZWL$ 61 000 000-00
The accused person led the police to his residence where groceries worth ZWL$ 728 300.21 bought using the fraudulent cards were recovered on his indication.
The complainant suffered actual prejudice of ZWL$ 599 709 333.02 and goods worth ZWL$728 300.21 were recovered.
