The International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) has written to the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) seeking more information on a US$2 million payment made by the Zimbabwean government to Drax Consult SAGL, also sometimes known as Drax International.
This comes after Hungarian authorities opened a money-laundering investigation after the company, that was two weeks old at the time, received a huge payment of US$2 million from Zimbabwe’s government.
According to ZimLive, when the payments were referred to Interpol, the company took flight and opened a new branch in Dubai, from where it sent Zimbabwe a new invoice of nearly US$1 million – to be paid into an account in the African tax haven of Mauritius.
Interpol’s Budapest office wrote in an April 29 letter to the ZRP:
These companies [owned by Ilir Dedja] may be linked to other companies that have been subjects of a criminal investigation.
Dedja is a 51-year-old man who was born in Sefaraj, a village in Albania and owns Drax International, among other companies.
Dedja’s Zimbabwe partner is Delish Nguwaya and the two met with President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mangudya in Harare.
Nguwaya was arrested last week on allegations of having fraudulently received contracts to supply the government of Zimbabwe with COVID-19 equipment. He was remanded in custody to Monday (tomorrow).