BY IKE SHUMBA
A suspected international money laundering and political corruption scheme, allegedly being orchestrated by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s top investment advisor, Paul Tungwarara, is now facing unprecedented scrutiny.
This follows the emergence of a corporate “WANTED” notice directly linked to Tungwarara’s Dubai-based entity, the Prevail Group of Companies.
The notice, seeking a woman named Sheila Calaguio Alfonso for allegedly vanishing with US$1 million, was inserted by Mnangagwa advisor’s Prevail Group.
This direct corporate link provides a tangible paper trail connecting a high-level Zimbabwean presidential advisor to a high-value financial disappearance in a global offshore hub.
It starkly illustrates the transnational nature of operations suspected of siphoning billions of United States dollars in cash from the Zimbabwean treasury.
The “WANTED” poster, bearing the header “Prevail Group of Companies” and contact details in the UAE, transforms speculative allegations into a document-based lead.
It confirms that Tungwarara’s overseas business apparatus is entangled in serious financial disputes involving millions in cash.
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Some allege that this is merely the visible tip of an iceberg, where foreign workers and shell companies in Dubai are used to move and conceal looted state funds from Zimbabwe.
Parallel to the Dubai operations, Tungwarara is accused of being the chief quartermaster for a domestic campaign of political corruption.
Millions of US dollars are reportedly deployed from shadowy sources to finance massive political patronage, buy parliamentary seats, and secure the loyalty of traditional leaders and influencers for Mnangagwa’s faction within Zanu PF, which is bidding for Mnangagwa to mutilate the constitution and stay in power beyond his constitutionally mandated end of term in 2028.
“This is a dual-channel looting operation,” said a former banker. “One channel buys political power inside Zimbabwe to guarantee impunity.
The other channel exports the wealth to Dubai and beyond for safekeeping and luxury consumption. Tungwarara manages both.”
Mnangagwa’s continued support for Tungwarara amid these grave allegations is now a central focus.
His silence and ongoing empowerment of the advisor—granting him oversight of critical state investment deals—are interpreted not as negligence, but as complicity.
“The president is not a bystander; he is the chief enabler,” said political analyst Farai Chikwati.
“By protecting Tungwarara, he is endorsing a criminal enterprise that is leaching the state dry.
“This is a profound abuse of office that mirrors the darkest episodes of state capture.”
The scandal draws stark, unsettling parallels to the fall of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, now serving a 15-year prison sentence for abuse of power and money laundering in the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal.
Like Najib, Mnangagwa is accused of placing a fugitive financier—in this case, Tungwarara—at the heart of state affairs.
Like Najib’s associate Jho Low (now a fugitive), Tungwarara is alleged to be the mastermind of complex global laundering networks funnelling state wealth overseas.
“The blueprint is identical: a powerful politician, a flamboyant advisor, offshore hubs like Dubai, missing millions, and a populace impoverished by the theft,” noted a comparative governance researcher.
“Zimbabwe is tragically following the 1MDB playbook, and history suggests the ending is rarely kind to the perpetrators.”
Civic coalitions and international anti-corruption bodies are demanding, the immediate suspension and investigation of Tungwarara and freezing of assets linked to the Prevail Group in Zimbabwe and the UAE.
They are also calling for an independent, forensic audit of all state contracts and investment deals overseen by Tungwarara.
As Malaysia’s Najib Razak contemplates his jail term, the message to Harare is clear: impunity for grand corruption has an expiration date.
The “WANTED” poster in Dubai may be seeking one individual for US$1 million, but the world is now watching for those responsible for the disappearance of billions from Zimbabwe.
The question is no longer if a reckoning will come, but when—and whether Zimbabwe’s leaders will heed the cautionary tale from Kuala Lumpur before it is too late.
