ON March 19 2010 we published two stories in which we alleged that Premier Bank had lost $50 000 in a loan scandal, as a consequence of extending a loan to Keltrade Investments, a company of which Kudakwashe Musora and Grace Musora are the directors.
These stories were based upon information and an internal audit report which was given to us by a former employee of Premier Bank, which we reported upon in a reasonably accurate manner. However, we have since established that there were some material errors in the audit report and that the additional information given to us by the former employee was totally false.We, therefore, wish to correct any false impressions that might have resulted from our reports.Premier Bank did indeed make a loan of $50 000 to Keltrade, and we do not believe there was anything shady or unethical about the extension of this loan. This facility was properly considered and granted by senior bank officials with the authority to grant such a facility. Kudakwashe Musora, a chief dealer with Stanbic Bank, is not the managing director of Keltrade. He is a full time banker and merely a director of his wife’s company. The managing director of the company is his wife, Grace, who set up the company and runs it. Musora stood as surety for the loan and given his position and status as a banker with a reputable bank he was considered to be a most satisfactory guarantor.The facility was for a period of three months and given the facility charges, which were deducted from the facility up front, and the interest payable on the facility, it was profitable business for the bank. Throughout the duration of the loan, Keltrade Investments’ current account was well funded and the loan was repaid timeously within the stipulated period in full with interest. We therefore have no hesitation in retracting the false statements made in our previous articles. It is most regrettable that we placed reliance upon a former employee of Premier Bank, who was in a position to know the truth, and whom we did not think would mislead us. We apologise most sinceraly to Musora, Premier Bank and the directors of Premier Bank, George Manyere and Walter Kambwanji, for the publication of the two reports and we greatly regret any embarrassment caused by the reports. We shall be taking this matter up with the former bank employee through our lawyers.
