Zimbabwe airline bosses arrested for fraud/AFP
HARARE, Feb 14 – Three executives of the cash-strapped Zimbabwe national airline have been arrested on fraud charges amounting to more than $8 million, police said on Friday.
Suspended Air Zimbabwe chief executive officer Innocent Mavhunga and former chief executive officer Peter Chikumba were arrested on Thursday while company secretary Grace Pfumbidzai was nabbed on Wednesday.
Police spokeswoman Charity Charamba could not give details about the charges only confirming that “they were arrested on fraud charges”.
They are all in custody pending an investigation.
Their arrest comes after an internal audit revealed that the airline was swindled out of more than £5 million (six million euros/$8.4 million) in an insurance scam.
Air Zimbabwe board was dissolved early this week over failure to revive the struggling carrier, saddled with debt of over $140 million.
Its ageing fleet has stopped servicing international routes and some aircraft were once impounded in London and South Africa by creditors over unpaid debt.
