Zimbabwe - Presidential adviser

About


Martin Rushwaya is a top adviser to Zimbabwe’s president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is also his cousin. Rushwaya has been involved in politics and ​government since 1996, when he became the administrator of one of Zimbabwe’s most mineral-rich provinces. He served as secretary of defense for 10 ​years, beginning in 2009.


In 2012, Rushwaya was also a member of the executive board of a Zimbabwean-Chinese joint venture that was touted as one of the world’s largest diamond ​mining companies. In 2019, the year Mnangagwa appointed him a senior presidential adviser, Rushwaya submitted a doctoral thesis on “the emergence of ​African business ethics.”

Political Career


Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration and Finance, Accounting Officer in the Office of the President and Cabinet (2019-present)

Permanent Secretary for Defense (2009- 2019)

Administrator, Midlands province (1996-2002)

In The Pandora Papers


While serving as Zimbabwe’s defense secretary, Rushwaya created Greatgem Corp. in the Seychelles in 2010, with the help of a Moscow law firm.


Rushwaya was one of two shareholders of the shell company. The other was a shell company owned by Moscow resident Olga Bakina. Greatgem’s sole ​director was Grey Mashava, then a Zimbabwean army colonel. The company had a bank account in Latvia.


In 2012, the offshore provider Alpha Consulting Ltd., which set up Greatgem, reported the company to the Seychelles’ Financial Intelligence Unit. Alpha ​Consulting noted that media reports identified Rushwaya as the director of a diamond-mining company that allegedly “camouflaged the involvement of ​security forces” and was involved in “off budget” financing. Alpha declared in its report, “We express a great deal of concern that the above described ​situation might be linked to the corruption of the state high officials.”


Rushwaya briefly spoke to an ICIJ reporter and asked for questions to be sent to him via WhatsApp. Rushwaya then did not respond to repeated requests for ​comment. Mashava could not be reached for comment. Bakina did not respond to ICIJ’s repeated requests for comment.

Secrecy Jurisdictions


Seychelles

Secrecy Broker


At the heart of the Pandora Papers are 14 offshore firms that help clients establish companies in secrecy jurisdictions. This profile draws on leaked data from ​these providers:


Alpha

Discover this Power Player’s offshore connections.

The information on this profile is current as of October 3, 2021. Read more about the Pandora Papers data.