Zimbabwe Parliament probes dodgy payments to shadowy Israeli firms

Jackson said he agreed to the deal because of its Israeli links, adding that he had received a commission of 3 percent for his part in the transaction. Asked if he was aware that his firm had taken part in the externalisation of funds, Jackson said the transactions had central bank approval.

“I do not know why the Ministry and Glamer chose to do it this way….I was caught in the middle. When we did this transaction I was under the impression that I was doing a national service that is why i agreed to it,” Jackson said.

“We received a few transactions from Ministry of Mines totalling over $1 million and we paid to Glamer as per instructions. Some was transferred to Glamer account overseas and the rest was paid in cash.”

Daniel Shumba, the ZANU-PF chairman of the parliamentary committee, dismissed Jackson’s claims and charged that Pedstock had actively participated in what he described as a scam.

“There was no need for a middleman as you are pretending to be unless it was for illicit activities of which clearly it is….your role was simply to facilitate payment of bribes.”

The hearing was adjourned to November 28.

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