Nine years behind bars for stealing thirty-four grand. Masciline Chihambakwe walked out of court free but only because she agreed to pay back every cent. The twenty-seven-year-old cashier at Mukuru Money Transfers in Chireya Business Centre took customer cash between late November and mid-December last year. She used that stolen money to open a retail shop in Gokwe instead of processing transactions like she was supposed to do.
An audit caught her holding thousands in unaccounted funds after a security delivery. Detectives followed the trail straight to her new business, where they recovered merchandise worth about twenty-five hundred dollars. Chihambakwe helped police locate the shop after her arrest which showed some level of cooperation during the investigation phase.
The judge suspended eight and a half years of the sentence on strict conditions. She must repay fifteen thousand seven hundred ninety-five dollars plus four thousand three hundred rand immediately to avoid prison time. Good behavior for five years is also required or she goes straight to jail. This ruling ties her freedom directly to full restitution of the stolen company funds.
An audit caught her holding thousands in unaccounted funds after a security delivery. Detectives followed the trail straight to her new business, where they recovered merchandise worth about twenty-five hundred dollars. Chihambakwe helped police locate the shop after her arrest which showed some level of cooperation during the investigation phase.
The judge suspended eight and a half years of the sentence on strict conditions. She must repay fifteen thousand seven hundred ninety-five dollars plus four thousand three hundred rand immediately to avoid prison time. Good behavior for five years is also required or she goes straight to jail. This ruling ties her freedom directly to full restitution of the stolen company funds.
