Nairobi News

Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Europe and the Americas, Uebert Mudzanire aka Angel, has been cleared of all gold smuggling and money laundering charges.

This is after authorities failed to see any proof of the two accounts he had been charged with.

As per a documentary done by international media on alleged illicit gold trade and money laundering in the country, Angel is believed to have offered to use his diplomatic status to launder millions of dollars through a gold smuggling scheme for undercover reporters posing as Asian criminals.

Controversial Kenyan businessman Kamlesh Pattni has also been implicated in the dealings.

The 44-year-old, who doubles up as a prophet of the Good News Church, which has branches in 15 countries, said he would facilitate a scheme through which unaccounted cash could be exchanged for Zimbabwe’s gold.

Recipients of the gold could then sell the precious metal for legitimate money, effectively turning their cash clean.

Also read: Kenyan woman arrested in Ghana with suspected Sh40 million cocaine

Angel and his business partner Rikki Doolan also claimed that their operations had the approval of Mnangagwa, who has been in power since November 2017, when Zimbabwe’s controversial former leader Robert Mugabe was ousted in a military coup.

“You want gold, gold we can do it right now, we can make the call right now, and it’s done,” he said.

Then added, “It will land in Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe can’t touch it too until I get to my house. So, there can be a diplomatic plan… it is a very, very easy thing.”

Angel responded to the claims saying there had been a lot of misinformation, speculation, and deliberate efforts to scandalize him.

In a statement through the Office of Presidential Envoy and Ambassador at Large (OPEAAL), Angel shared that his meetings with the journalists who posed as potential investors were never secret and that they met in public places.

“The Ambassador At-Large’s Office receives inquiries from prospective investors and facilitates the formalisation of their investments. As the Chief Investment Officer, I engage with potential investors with the view to guide them on the policy and procedures in the sectors of their interest. I also help them to navigate government bureaucracy and facilitate meetings with relevant officials from the public and private sectors. The Ambassador is never the final port of call for any investor. Our office is one of the key starting points for any investor,” he explained.

Angel also shared that part of his meetings with investors was to assess whether a meeting with the Ambassador is warranted saying it is his discretion to arrange a meeting with the investors and His Excellency, the President, as a way of keeping His Excellency informed of new investments coming into the country in line with OPEAAL’s mandate and Vision 2030.

He claimed that the documentary edited out that particular context for the ‘obvious’ reason of wanting to misrepresent facts.

Also read: Former councilor charged with attempted murder over a land dispute