(HERALD) Sanctions — US freezes Zim funds

Sanctions — US freezes Zim funds
Saturday, 05 March 2011 23:48 Top Stories
By Tafadzwa Chiremba

ABOUT US$2 million realised from sales of local minerals and deposited locally into a Stanbic Bank account has been frozen by the United States’ central bank, the Federal Reserve, on the grounds that the two account holders — Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) and Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) — are under US sanctions.

Of that money, more than US$1,5 million belonged to MMCZ and about US$300 000 was deposited into the ZMDC account. The money was transferred by the Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines through a Stanbic Bank telegraphic transfer (TT) and wired by the bank to the US.

Stanbic Bank operates a nostro account, maintained by an overseas bank, where bulk transfers are first sent before they reach their local recipients. Through that arrangement, Stanbic Bank instructs its overseas bank to transfer the money to a local bank but that money first goes through the Federal Reserve.

A US government arm, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (Offac), which is used by that government to implement the illegal sanctions on Zimbabwean parastatals, is said to have recommended the freezing of the funds. All payments associated with companies on the illegal sanctions list also risk having their funds frozen.

ZMDC chairman Mr Godwills Masimirembwa confirmed that his company had lost more than US$300 000 in gold sales proceeds.
The Chamber of Mines is said to have transferred the money from Jena and Sabi Gold Mines through its Stanbic Bank’s Samora Machel Branch to ZMDC’s BancABC account.
“Through the US’s Offac, our money was frozen because we are on the sanctions list,” said Mr Masimirembwa.

He said the sanctions were so dire that payments for minerals were difficult to institute directly to ZMDC.
“We get paid normally in US dollars. Our customers cannot pay us directly.

“We need to consistently sell our diamonds. Once the sanctions are removed, the country can realise more than US$85 million per month from that,” he said.
Stanbic Bank legal adviser Mrs Aisha Timba could not comment on the issue yesterday and referred all questions to the financial institution’s managing director, Mr Joshua Tapambwa, who could not be reached for comment.

Other companies on the sanctions list are Agribank, the Industrial Development Corporation of Zimbabwe (IDC), the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) and ZB Bank.

Jongwe Printing and Publishing, M & S Syndicate, Zidco Holdings, the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (Zisco) and Zimre Holdings are also under the illegal sanctions.
The sanctions prohibit US nationals and corporates from doing business with the designated entities or other businesses they may control.-The Sunday Mail