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Kuvacash Co-Founder James Saruchera Faces Court Over Alleged US$286,000 Fraud in Property Deall

James Saruchera, a prominent business executive and co-founder of the global cash remittance start-up Kuvacash Private Limited, appeared in court on Tuesday facing allegations of defrauding a client of US$286,000 in a failed property transaction.

James Saruchera, who appeared before Harare magistrate Patricia Kamwanda, was not required to enter a plea and was granted bail set at US$500. The charges include theft of trust property, and Saruchera is jointly charged alongside Kuvacash.

Court documents indicate that the complainant in the case is Paidamoyo Kuruneri. According to the allegations, Kuruneri became aware that Kennan Properties was selling a Borrowdale, Harare property for US$320,000. Following negotiations, the price was reduced to US$286,000.

Kennan Properties informed Kuruneri that the property seller required the payment to be made offshore and advised that Kuvacash, being licensed for such transactions, could facilitate the transfer.

“The complainant then approached Kuvacash to manage the transfer of the funds to the United Kingdom for the property purchase,” the court was told.

An agreement of sale for the property was subsequently arranged through Kennan Properties. Kuruneri transferred US$286,000 to Kuvacash, with the transaction being handled by an account relationship manager named Lauren, acting under Saruchera’s instructions.

However, after receiving the payment, Saruchera allegedly failed to transfer the funds to the property owner and instead converted the money for personal use. Due to the failure to process the transfer, the property seller canceled the agreement through Kennan Properties.

Saruchera was unable to account for the missing funds, leading to his arrest. The court noted that none of the funds were recovered.