Zimbabwean executive Never Mhlanga arrested in $5 million Montclair Hotel fraud case

Zimbabwean corporate executive Never Mhlanga was arrested in Harare over allegations of fraud connected to the $5 million sale of Montclair Hotel and Casino in Nyanga’s Eastern Highlands. He is expected to appear in court in the coming weeks.

Dispute over Montclair ownership

The case centers on a November 2024 deal, when ZSE-listed Rainbow Tourism Group (RTG) announced it would acquire Montclair from Briolette Services (Pvt) Ltd for $5 million. The transaction, involving 23 shareholders, required regulatory approval from the Competition and Tariff Commission.

Former colleagues of Mhlanga at the now-defunct National Discount House (NDH) claim he acted without authority while representing Ludham Investments, a special-purpose vehicle originally tied to NDH that held Montclair shares. They say Mhlanga had left his role as a Ludham director years earlier, but still signed off on the RTG deal as if he had the mandate.

Complainant Tinashe Able Chimanikire contends that Ludham’s 4.17 percent stake in Montclair was transferred improperly, causing the company a loss of roughly $208,500. Prosecutors maintain that Mhlanga’s actions amounted to fraud, prompting police to detain him following the report.

Aftermath of a collapsed financial house

The dispute underscores the long shadow of NDH’s collapse in the early 2000s. The discount house was liquidated in 2004, with some units sold or restructured. Shareholding vehicles such as Ludham were left in limbo, creating uncertainty over mandates and ownership that persists decades later. 

Mhlanga, a chartered accountant trained at the University of Zimbabwe, has built a career in corporate advisory and strategic roles. His experience spans privatizations and listings, including Dairibord Holdings, the merger of insurers to form NicozDiamond, and banking consolidations that reshaped Zimbabwe’s financial sector. He is an executive director at Parker Randall Strategy and served on multiple corporate and non-profit boards.