The US$3.65 Million Heist: How a Chinese Executive Looted Millions of Cash from a Zimbabwean Lithium Mine
HARARE – In the high-stakes world of Zimbabwe’s lithium rush, where the promise of “white gold” has attracted billions in foreign investment, a staggering case of corporate betrayal has laid bare the fragile underbelly of the nation’s most lucrative sector. Li Shigang, a 58-year-old Chinese national and former Chief Finance Officer of San Ding Lithium (Pvt) Ltd, stands at the centre of an alleged US$3.65 million heist—a crime not of pickaxes and midnight raids, but of forged ledgers, phantom invoices, and a calculated exploitation of trust.
The details emerging from the Harare Magistrates Court paint a picture of a sophisticated internal sabotage that has left a promising mining venture crippled and its directors searching for answers that have been missing for over two years. Li, who resided in the affluent suburb of Borrowdale, appeared before Magistrate Mrs Jesse Kufa on 13 July 2026, facing charges of theft of trust property, with an alternative charge of contravening the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act.
The story of San Ding Lithium’s downfall began in 2022, a year when Chinese investments in Zimbabwe’s mining sector were surging. According to court documents, Li joined the company that year, assuming the dual roles of Chief Finance Officer and Commercial Manager. To the outside observer, and indeed to his fellow directors, Li appeared to be a committed partner. On 12 October 2022, he voluntarily injected US$630,000 as a personal investment into the firm. It was a move that investigators now believe was a calculated “trust-building” exercise, designed to secure his absolute authority over the company’s purse strings.
With that authority came total control. Li was entrusted with “full authority over core corporate operations which include funds collection, disbursement, financial supervision, commercial settlements, payments approval and full control over the company finances.” In a sector where oversight is often secondary to the speed of extraction, this concentration of power created a vacuum that Li and an alleged accomplice, Zhu Guozhonga, were quick to fill.
As San Ding Lithium began its operations, it appeared to be a success. The company raked in over US$3.65 million in revenue as the global demand for lithium—essential for the electric vehicle revolution—sent prices soaring. However, while the ore was leaving the ground, the proceeds were allegedly vanishing into thin air. Prosecutors allege that Li and Zhu systematically siphoned off the entire US$3.65 million through a complex web of deceit.
“Without the complainant and other directors’ knowledge, the accused and his accomplice… misappropriated funds by using fake and or forged receipts and invoices to legitimise his loot,” the state’s case reads. The mechanics were simple yet devastating: every dollar earmarked for mining operations, equipment, and labour was instead diverted to personal use, backed by a paper trail of fraudulent documents that Li himself, as the CFO, was responsible for verifying.
The audacity of the scheme did not stop at the company’s bank accounts. In a final act of asset stripping, the pair reportedly disposed of two company-owned Toyota Hilux double-cab vehicles—registration numbers AFY 3339 and AEN 0398—and pocketed the proceeds. It was a move that signalled the end of the line for the venture.
The house of cards began to tumble in January 2024. Sensing that the net was closing, Li and Zhu abruptly resigned. They attempted to flee without completing any formal resignation procedures or, crucially, handing over the financial records that would expose their activities. The tension reached a breaking point when the company’s director, Chen Dehua, and another worker, Chen Xingmei, intercepted Li as he was physically attempting to carry away critical financial ledgers from the office.
Despite this confrontation, the suspects managed to evade immediate accountability. For more than two years, Mr Chen has been engaged in a desperate game of cat-and-mouse, trying to recover the records and establish where the company’s millions had gone. Li and his accomplice reportedly avoided all communication, leaving the directors in the dark while the mining operations ground to a halt.
“The complainant tried to contact the accused persons to resolve this issue, but over two years have passed while the accused are avoiding any communication or cooperation in submitting the financial records and resultantly the complainant doesn’t know where the company funds are sitting,” prosecutors stated during the remand hearing.
The San Ding Lithium case is not an isolated incident but rather a symptom of a broader, more systemic crisis within Zimbabwe’s mining industry. Recent reports, including the 2026 “China’s Minerals Mafia” investigation by the US House Select Committee, have highlighted widespread corruption and internal squabbles among foreign syndicates operating in the country. In 2023 alone, Chinese investments in Zimbabwe’s mining sector involved 121 investors contributing a staggering US$2.79 billion. Yet, as the San Ding heist demonstrates, the lack of robust internal controls and regulatory oversight has turned these ventures into prime targets for sophisticated internal fraud.
The Zimbabwean government’s recent ban on raw mineral ore and lithium concentrate exports, aimed at forcing local value addition, has added another layer of complexity to the sector. While intended to boost the national economy, the policy has also intensified the competition and “bitter infighting” among foreign investors, as noted by local observers. These internal disputes over lucrative mining operations and corporate funds are increasingly spilling into the public domain, with foreign nationals dragging each other to court or fleeing the country to evade justice.
Industry experts argue that the San Ding heist highlights a critical failure in corporate governance. “Weak internal controls can facilitate fraudulent activities, leading to financial misrepresentation or losses,” a recent industry analysis noted. In the case of San Ding, the decision to grant a single individual—who was also an investor—total control over financial supervision and payment approval proved to be a fatal error.
The implications for foreign investment in Zimbabwe are profound. While the country sits on some of the world’s largest lithium reserves, the perception of a “Wild West” atmosphere, where millions can disappear unnoticed, threatens to deter the very investors the government is trying to attract. The case raises uncomfortable questions about whether the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has the capacity to protect local operations from such sophisticated internal sabotage.
As of July 2026, Li Shigang remains in custody, having been remanded pending a bail hearing. The total value misappropriated is pegged at US$3,650,000, and to date, not a single cent has been recovered. For the directors of San Ding Lithium, the legal battle is just beginning, but the damage to their venture—and the reputation of Zimbabwe’s lithium sector—may already be irreversible.
The investigation continues as authorities look for Zhu Guozhonga, who remains at large. For now, the empty pits and silent machinery at San Ding stand as a grim monument to a heist that was executed not with weapons, but with a pen and a position of trust. The “white gold” rush continues, but the lesson of San Ding is clear: in the race for resources, the greatest threat often comes from within.