Financial scandals that shook Zimbabwe : ENG Capital (Part 1)

On 19 December 2003, within a few hours following Gideon Gono’s maiden Monetary Policy Statement as RBZ governor, ENG Capital collapsed. It had failed to pay over ZW$100 billion it owed its investors. Two of the company’s directors, Nyasha Watyoka and Gilbert Muponda were subsequently arrested for misappropriating depositor funds totaling over ZW$61 billion. The collapse of ENG Capital sent ripples in Zimbabwe’s banking sector, and sparked a huge banking crisis. Thereafter 14 banking institutions failed, all within the space of a year. This episode recounts the chain of events that led to the collapse of ENG Capital, one of the biggest ever financial scandals in Zimbabwe.