Over US$3.5bn stolen through RBZ auction system, says former Finance Minister

Former Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Tendai Biti the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s auction system needs a forensic audit as it has been used to siphon government coffers.

He says from its inception, the system had never been used for the benefit of the country but to corruptly enrich certain cartels.

“From day one we argued that Foreign Exchange Auction system was a fraud facilitating transfer of wealth from public coffers to cartels US$ 3.5 b has been syphoned from public sector to cartels via the auction system from its inception.

“But economy has nothing to show for this,” he says.

Biti says it should be put to the fore as to how the allotments were given and for what purposes.

“The massive auction fraud funded by the public requires a forensic value for money audit. Who got what, for what purpose , was there delivery or performance?

“Such an audit will expose the extractive predatory status quo of the Central Bank & why it must be shut down,” he adds.

Meanwhile, market watchers have on several occasions claimed the system was being used to support corrupt ends by cartels.

Zwnews