Gold Mafia: Scott Sakupwanya Says He Takes 10% From Investors
Self-proclaimed prophet Uebert Angel has claimed that ZANU PF politician Pedzisai Sakupwanya, also known as Scott, is Zimbabwe’s number one gold dealer.
Angel was appointed Zimbabwe’s Ambassador at Large and Presidential Envoy to Europe and the Americas by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2021.
He made the remarks while speaking to Al Jazeera undercover reporters, who were pretending to be Chinese criminals looking to launder more than US$100 million of undeclared wealth.
This was revealed in the fourth and final episode of the “Gold Mafia” documentary titled “Have The King With You” that was premiered on Friday, 14 April 2023.
Angel also claimed that Scott used to wash cars for Ewan Macmillan and has overtaken his former boss in the gold industry. Said Angel:
He is the biggest gold guy in Zimbabwe. He’s right there, he’s in his house, sleeping on five million U.S. dollars.
This guy used to clean MacMillan’s car. Macmillan was the one that this one worked for. It’s good we know it’s Macmillan.
Macmillan doesn’t control nothing. This was his worker cleaning his car. He is the number one now in Zimbabwe.
Scott is number one. Number one without a doubt. We can just call him right now.
Angel then called Sakupwanya in the presence of the undercover reporters. He said:
So I’ve got some good investors for you here. They are hearing you already. From January, what have you gotten right now? What have you sold?
Scott said he had sold six tonnes of gold in 10 months. When Angel asked about what happens when someone invests with him, Sakupwanya said:
I guess I can take ten percent per month.
He said if he gets cash from someone, he gives them ten percent per month for the money they invest with him.
Scott said the “investors” are 100 per guaranteed to get a return for their investment.
On being asked by Angel how he moves the money back to the investor, he said:
It depends on where they are from. If they are from Dubai, I can pay into their Dubai account… Anywhere, anywhere in the world, I can manage to do the transfer. Not a problem for me.
According to Al Jazeera, the gold smugglers carry Zimbabwe’s gold to Dubai, where it is then sold in exchange for clean cash.
This money is transferred to the bank accounts of the money launderers, who hand over an equivalent amount of their dirty dollars to the Zimbabwe government through the smugglers.
Angel’s assets were recently frozen by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Financial Intelligence Unit.
Reports suggest Angel is likely to face money laundering charges and allegations of name-dropping.
Angel, through his lawyer Lovemore Madhuku, on Thursday postponed responding to the Gold Mafia documentary saying he will do so once the fourth and final episode is released.
A 2020 report by the International Crisis Group (ICG) said gold worth US$1.5 billion was smuggled out of Zimbabwe every year by syndicates linked to political elites.
More: Pindula News
