The Zimbabwe Republic Police are investigating a case of alleged fraud involving a company that duped at least 17 people out of over $100,000 USD. The company, called Siyaya Trading Company, falsely claimed to be an agent for Japanese used car exporter Be Forward.
The scam worked as follows – individuals approached Siyaya’s offices in Harare wanting to import used cars from Japan via Be Forward. They made payments to Siyaya for the supposed car imports. The vehicles were said to be delivered within 8 weeks after payment.
However, only around half of the money paid was actually used to purchase the vehicles. The remainder was pocketed by the suspects, according to police investigations, resulting in the customers never receiving the cars they had ordered and paid for.
In total, the 17 victims lost approximately $102,636 USD in the scam. The police have appealed to the public for information that could help them arrest one of Siyaya’s directors, Evans Dingilizwe Mbasopi.
