INCREASING HYBRID ECONOMIC WARFARE MUST BE STOPPED.

Image from Sentry Spincash report

Despite the Third Report of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee on the Special Maize Program/Command Agriculture, debunking the false allegations that Kuda Tagwirei took US$3 billion from Command Agriculture -which were made by #Sentry in their #ShadowsAndShellGames report- the same inaccurate report was still used by the U.S. government to justify imposing illegal sanctions on Kuda Tagwirei, his wife , Obey Chimuka and Junior Mnangagwa.

Now, the same US government-sponsored institution (Sentry) that spread the false report debunked by our parliament, is at it again, making unfounded claims once again against Tagwirei, the President, the Vice President and other Zimbabwean leaders in an attempt to discredit them.

Since the sanctions have not succeeded in shutting down our key investors, their businesses and toppling our government; the US has chosen to repeat these claims after the release of #GoldMafia, with an aim to portray Zimbabwean leaders, the army, politicians and business people as facilitators of money laundering in a military dictatorship.

Once this narrative is entrenched, the aim is to exert subliminal pressure upon banks in Zimbabwe, South Africa, the UAE and other jurisdictions, to enforce FATF rules of targeting PEP (Politically Exposed Persons) and their companies that are implicated in the report, by blocking their accounts, seizing their assets, denying them loans and closing their bank accounts without trail, to cripple the businesses of those investing in Zimbabwe, as was done with the Guptas in South Africa.

Under #FATF guidelines, bank executives are enjoined to block, close and seize the assets and proceeds of politically exposed persons suspected of impropriety, without trial.

The Americans and their western allies are further pushing for DNFBPs (Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professionals) to also expose the companies and trusts where such PEPs are beneficiaries, to prevent them from doing business, concealing their wealth or accessing capital.

This by the way is only targeted at companies and investors of the global South but never to corrupt western banks that crash the global financial system, companies like McKinsey implicated in corruption at Eskom in South Africa or Glencore that was found guilty of flying millions of dollars across the world to bribe leaders of oil rich countries.

Even though many of our government officials and business people see our #ZASMvsUSAandSAbanks case as a threat to their individual interests, and those pushing for re-engagement see it as stopping their overseas travels, travel allowances, and shopping sprees.

Nonetheless, the Gold Mafia documentary, additional sanctions imposed on six key figures five months ago by the U.S. and this new Sentry Report, illustrate that the West is not re-engaging, but they are only cooperating due to pressure from legal and multilateral pressure against their sanctions, as witnessed when Dentons and CBZ got U.S. penalties cancelled.

Iran has also been getting favorable rulings against US sanctions in international courts, and that’s why we also need to maintain multilateral and legal pressure on them for total victory.

ZASM’s case cripples the weaponization of the banking system against Africans by the West, and it is high time that African leaders and elites realize that in this realigning and de-dollarizing world, they need to join us clipping the wings of U.S. financial hegemony, otherwise such shoddy reports will continue to be used illegitimately by the west to control Africa’s businesses, financial flows, investment and global trade.

Written by Rutendo Matinyarare, Chairman of ZASM.