By Sipiwe Nyoni
HARARE — A Chinese national and former chief finance officer of San Ding Lithium has been hauled before the Harare Magistrates Court facing allegations of siphoning over US$3.65 million from the firm, in a case that highlights a growing trend of vicious financial disputes among foreign mining cartels.
Lately, the local mining sector has witnessed a surge in bitter infighting among Chinese investors operating in syndicates. These internal squabbles over lucrative mining operations and corporate funds have increasingly spilled into the public domain, resulting in foreign nationals either dragging each other to the country’s courts or fleeing Zimbabwe altogether to evade justice and accountability.
In the latest incident to hit the courts, 58-year-old Li Shigang appeared before Harare magistrate Ms. Jesse Kufa Monday following his arrest on July 11. He is facing charges of theft of trust property, with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) proffering an alternative charge of contravening the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act. He was remanded in custody pending a bail hearing.
The court heard that Li abused his fiduciary duties and position of trust as the chief finance officer and commercial manager, a role that gave him full authority over fund collection, disbursements and financial supervision. Despite injecting an initial US$630,000 as a personal investment when he joined San Ding Lithium in 2022, Li, allegedly acting in cahoots with an accomplice, Zhu Guozhonga, orchestrated a massive fraud that brought the mining company’s operations to a grinding halt.
The State alleges that without the knowledge of the board of directors, the duo misappropriated company funds by manufacturing fake and forged receipts and invoices to legitimize the looting of US$3.65 million intended for corporate operations. Furthermore, the two men allegedly sold two company-owned Toyota Hilux double-cab vehicles and converted the proceeds to their personal use.
In an attempt to conceal their illicit activities, the suspects abruptly resigned from San Ding Lithium in January 2024 without completing formal handover procedures. The NPA highlighted that Li was actually intercepted by the complainant, San Ding Lithium director Chen Dehua, and another worker while attempting to smuggle crucial company financial records off the premises upon his resignation.
For over two years, Mr. Chen has unsuccessfully attempted to engage the accused persons to recover the missing financial documents and trace the looted funds. Prosecutors said that the accused continuously avoided communication and cooperation, leaving the directors in the dark about the whereabouts of the company’s finances and culminating in Li’s arrest last week.
