Marshall Bwanya
HARARE—RioZim Limited is facing a fresh corruption storm after the Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers’ Union (ZDAMWU) filed a new criminal complaint with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).
The fresh complaint accuses the mining giant of fraud, tax evasion, fund diversions and misrepresentation of key financial matters.
The allegations, if proven, could have sweeping implications for shareholders, employees, and the wider investment climate in Zimbabwe’s mining sector.
ZDAMWU general secretary Justice Chinhema, in a letter dated 24 September 2025 submitted to ZACC, urged the commission to act urgently on what he described as a “pattern of financial irregularities” at RioZim.
The complaint, which follows earlier letters submitted in April and June this year, accuses the company of operating secret banking arrangements, disposing of assets under questionable circumstances and creating proxy companies to conceal transactions.
Siphoned
According to ZDAMWU’s reports to ZACC, after the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) garnished RioZim’s bank accounts, the company funneled proceeds from its trading activities through an account belonging to Rio Gold (Private) Limited at CABS Northridge branch.
The union alleges that this practice was designed to conceal funds from tax authorities, raising questions as to whether ZIMRA was ever notified.
The union also claimed in its letters that RioZim withheld the true status of the Sengwa Colliery Special Grant (No. 849) after the Mines ministry notified the company of its cancellation on 15 August 2024.
Despite this, RioZim went ahead three months later—on 11 November 2024—to dispose of coal claims under the same grant.
ZDAMWU argued that this amounted to defrauding contracting parties, with the proceeds from the disposal never accounted for in company financial records.
The complaint further cited the disposal of RioZim’s One Step Mine, alleging that only a fraction of the proceeds was declared to ZIMRA and stakeholders.
In addition, ZDAMWU’s reports point to the creation of proxy entities such as Takaoma Investments (Private) Limited that were allegedly used to divert funds under the guise of loan agreements, without being properly reflected in RioZim’s books.
Workers suffer while assets disappear
Chinhema, speaking in an interview with NewsHub outside the formal ZACC submission issued a scathing assessment of RioZim’s management.
“The allegations we have raised against RioZim of having secret banking arrangements are critical and must be fully investigated. It undermines the integrity and competence of RioZim’s current management,” he said.
“Given the company’s worsening financial position with liabilities exceeding assets and liquidity issues, RioZim’s management should bear significant responsibility for mismanagement.”
“Leadership accountability is crucial as these actions have contributed to financial losses, harmed shareholder value, and led to workers suffering unpaid salaries and uncertainty.
“We honestly do not have confidence with the current management (that is only) interested in looting,” added Chinhema.
He further argued that minority shareholders had been prejudiced by the undisclosed proceeds from asset sales, stressing that this undermined investor trust.
“The alleged use of proxy companies and undisclosed asset sale proceeds could have prejudiced minority shareholders by obscuring the true financial state and diversion of funds from the company.
“We are advocating for an independent oversight mechanism that will bring full disclosure and strict adherence to corporate governance principles … necessary to restore investor confidence and safeguard their rights,” he said.
Push for corporate rescue
In the interview with this publication, Chinhema noted: “We are pushing for RioZim to be placed under court-supervised corporate rescue.”
“There are immediate, midterm and long term interests of workers … including protecting workers’ livelihoods as an ongoing concern.
“This demanded freezing asset disposals by the same management halting any litigation that might disadvantage the corporate rescue process, ensuring an investment plan guarantee payment of owed salaries and pensions in the short term guarantee jobs and creating new jobs corporate rescue legal moratoriums on lawsuits and asset sales … safeguarding employees restructuring,” added ZDAMWU.
This is not the first time RioZim has been implicated in controversy.
Previous investigations and complaints highlight a long-standing pattern of financial mismanagement, weak governance, and alleged misconduct.
A criminal complaint lodged with ZRP Highlands and the police’s Commercial Crimes Division in 2024 was closed under what the union described in its letters as “questionable circumstances,” raising the spectre of interference or selective enforcement in prior probes.
Over the years, RioZim has faced repeated allegations of corporate mis-governance, including failure to disclose related-party transactions, secret banking arrangements, and unexplained asset disposals.
The company’s financial statements have been scrutinised for inconsistencies, particularly regarding undisclosed loans, asset transfers, and irregular payments that appear to benefit management at the expense of workers and minority shareholders, as reported by Mining Zimbabwe.
There have been frequent shareholder disputes, with ZDAMWU and other stakeholders questioning the integrity of transactions involving associate companies such as RZM Murowa and proxy entities allegedly used to divert funds.
These controversies have often coincided with periods of labour unrest, strikes over unpaid wages, and reports of pension fund violations, creating a cycle of operational instability and public distrust, documented by Zimbabwe Labour News.
The death of chairman Harpal Randhawa in 2023 further exacerbated governance gaps, leaving a leadership vacuum during a time when financial mismanagement and internal conflicts were already intensifying.
Analysts and labour rights groups have highlighted that RioZim’s ongoing financial decline and asset opacity have eroded investor confidence, with minority shareholders repeatedly raising concerns over misappropriation, secret accounts and the diversion of proceeds from asset sales.
Taken together, these historical controversies underscore a systemic pattern of mismanagement and alleged corruption, framing the current ZACC complaint as part of a broader context of governance failures and unaddressed accountability issues at RioZim.
Financial decline and labour unrest
RioZim has long struggled with declining production, debt and labour unrest. In 2024, the company’s gold output plunged by more than 50 percent, while its diamond production also contracted.
Losses deepened, with RioZim reporting a ZWG 628.5 million deficit in 2024, compared to ZWG 107.7 million in 2023.
Meanwhile, thousands of workers endured months without pay, with reports showing over 2,200 employees went five months without salaries by April 2025. These hardships triggered repeated strikes and protests across RioZim’s operations, deepening instability.
Critics have also pointed to poor corporate governance and weak transparency. Equity Axis labelled RioZim “the only loss-making entity in the gold era,” highlighting mounting debts, under-capitalisation and collapse in output.
Labour rights groups have stressed that workers are bearing the brunt of mismanagement, with unpaid salaries, pension arrears and job insecurity worsening conditions across the mines.
Shareholder and investor concerns
For minority shareholders, the stakes are also high.
RioZim’s shares remain illiquid and depressed, with trading turnover of just US$41,000 in the past year.
Plans for a US$20 million capital injection may stall under the weight of corruption allegations.
Analysts warn that if ZACC’s investigation confirms the allegations, shareholder value will be further eroded and investor confidence shattered.
Company silence
When contacted for comment on the allegations, RioZim group corporate affairs executive, Wilson Gwatiringa, said: “I am not commenting.”
Attempts to obtain a comment from the ZACC regarding the allegations of financial misconduct at RioZim, including secret banking arrangements, undisclosed asset sales, and the prejudicing of minority shareholders, were unsuccessful.