Well-known Zimbabwean business tycoon John Bredenkamp has fled the country after the authorities began investigating him for alleged economic crimes, the government-owned Herald newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Bredenkamp slipped out of the country in a private jet on Tuesday, the newspaper said. There has been no independent confirmation of the report.
The businessman, who has a wide range of mining and tobacco interests in Zimbabwe, is rumoured to be linked to top ruling party politicians, including former speaker of Parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Unlike other prominent white businessmen, Bredenkamp has been spared from scrutiny until now.
The Herald said he was being investigated by the National Economic Conduct Inspectorate (NECI), a little-known body that appears to be part of Zimbabwe’s newly-launched drive against corruption.
”A source close to the investigations last night [Tuesday] said Mr Bredenkamp was being probed on allegations of flouting exchange control regulations, tax evasions and contravening the Citizenship Act,” reported the government mouthpiece.
According to the newspaper, Bredenkamp held both Zimbabwean and South African passports — an offence under Zimbabwe’s strict citizenship laws.
The Herald said he was siphoning out the profits of his Zimbabwean companies to offshore companies in contravention of Zimbabwe’s exchange laws that stipulate that all hard currency made in Zimbabwe must remain in the country. – Sapa-DPA