The former Managing Director of Assa Abloy Chubb Locks Union Clive Majoni who defrauded his employer of US$ 1,381,920 will be back in court on 12 May. Majoni initially appeared before Harare regional magistrate Mrs Marehwanazvo Gofa and was is currently on bail.
The court heard that between 2018 and 2019, Chubb Locks Union Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd maintained United States dollar (USD) balances in its Stanbic Bank account numbers 9140000687315 and 9140002837888. Following the monetary policy reforms introduced in February 2019 by the Government of Zimbabwe, in line with Exchange Control Directive RU28, all USD deposits held in local bank accounts were re-denominated to RTGS dollars at a parity rate of 1:1.
To safeguard the value of legitimate pre-February 2019 foreign obligations, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), issued guidance under the Blocked Funds (Legacy Debt) Framework, inviting affected companies to apply for recognition of such obligations as “legacy debts.” Accordingly, Chubb Locks Union Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd identified foreign liabilities amounting to USD 1,381,918.65 as qualifying under this framework.
Pursuant to this guidance, on 28 August 2019, Assa Abloy Chubb Locks Union Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd (AAZ), the successor entity to Chubb Locks Union Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd, lodged a Legacy Debt (Blocked Funds) Application with the RBZ, through Stanbic Bank, for validation and registration of the said blocked funds. Documents submitted by Assa Abloy Chubb Locks Union Zimbabwe through Stanbic Bank for the registration of the blocked funds.
It is allged that on January 30 2020, the RBZ approved the application and confirmed that USD 4,381,918.65 was recognized as blocked funds under Exchange Control Circular Number 8 of 2019.
This approval gave Assa Abloy Chubb Locks Union Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd a valid claim against the RBZ for that amount, which would be paid or settled later under the Bank’s Blocked Funds resolution Framework.
At the material time, Majoni served as Managing Director of Assa Abloy Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd.
Owing to operational and cash flow challenges, Assa Abloy Zimbabwe (Private) Limited ceased trading and terminated the employment of Majoni on 4 November 2020, followed by his removal as company Director. The termination agreement included clause 3.5 offering the accused an incentive of USD 20,000 for facilitating the settlement of the oe Legacy Debt Application in favour of Assa Abloy Zimbabwe (Private) Limited, to ensure the accused person kept the principals informed of any developments and ass‘sted in monet zing the approved claim, as he was the contact person in the orignal application filed before his dismissal.
Following the close of trading, the complainant, being Assa Abloy South Africa (Pvt) Ltd, assumed responsibility for all follow-ups regarding the monet’zation of the approved legacy debt claim.
Between 2020 and 2022, the complainant made several formal approaches to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Stanbic Bank, and other channels to redeem or monetize the approved amount and all efforts, however, were unsuccessful.
During this same period, the accused person, without authority from the Assa Abloy Group, established a separate company known as Chubb Security (Private) Limited, using a name deceptively similar to the former Chubb Locks Union Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd.
The court heard that Majoni further opened a bank account with the Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe (CBZ), number 11325589360050, in the name of “Chubb Security (Private) Limited”, without the knowledge or consent of the Assa Abloy Group or its authorized representatives
On June 6 2022, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development mandated the Reserve Rank of Zimbahwe to issue Treasury Bonds worth USD 1,381,918.65 on behalf of Treasury
to Assa Abloy Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd in three batches of USD 460,639.55 each on 6 June 2022, 13 June 2022, and 20 June 2022.
It is alleged that Majoni authored and signed a letter dated 13 May 2022 on Assa Abloy Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd letterhead, fraudulently purporting to act on behalf of the legitimate company, and delivered it to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe on 22 June 2022.
The letter instructed the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to transfer Treasury Bills belonging to Assa Abloy Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd from Stanbic Bank to CBZ Bank account number 11325589360050, held in the name of Chubb Security (Private) Limited, a company personally owned and controlled by Majoni, and misrepresented that the complainant’s Stanbic account had been closed.
He also went on to instruct CBZ Bank to receive the Treasury Bills from the RBZ on behalf of his company, Chubb Security (Private) Limited.
Acting upon these fraudulent instructions from Majoni, the RBZ proceeded to issue three Treasury” Bills under serial numbers FCTB1095202206138, FCTB109520220620A, and FCTB1095 20220606A, with a combined value of USD 1,381,918.85, to Chubb Security (Private) Limited. These Treasury Bills were later transferred to third parties, thereby depriving Assa Abloy Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd of its legitimate entitlement.
The matter came to light in June 2025 when Assa Abloy South Africa (Pty) Ltd engaged Bahati Advisory Services (BAS) to assist with the follow-up and recovery of the legacy debt claim in Zimbabwe. During the course of their engagement, Bahati Advisory Services, represented by Tawanda Marufu and Tererai Mhungu, advised that the RBZ had already issued Treasury Bills on June 29 2022 to CBZ Bank under the name “Chubb Security (Pvt) Ltd”, in full settlement of the legacy debt.
Following this discovery, Assa Abloy Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd lodged a criminal complaint with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), alleging fraudulent diversion and unlawful issuance of Treasury Bills belonging to the company.
As a result of the unlawful actions by Majoni, Assa Abloy Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd suffered actual financial prejudice amounting to US$ 1,381,920 representing the the full value of its validated legacy debt claim that had been wrongfully diverted to Chubb Security (Pvt) Ltd.
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