The Chief of Executive Officer of the Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe (CBZ) left his position unceremoniously amid revelations that the top official was pushed out after the bank was hit by a hefty fine for illegal transactions.

The United States Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac)slapped the bank with a staggering US$3,8 billion fine for thousands of financial transactions done on behalf of ZB Bank then under economic sanctions imposed by the world’s largest economy, the Zimbabwe Independent exclusively revealed.

After some CBZ mitigation through its lawyers, Ofac reduced the amount to US$385 million, which still remains heavy considering the Zimbabwe’s banking sector crisis.

Read also: Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe CEO Nyemudzo Bows Out

Although there may be other political issues around Never Nyemudzo’s exit, this case seems to have been the root cause of the problem - not insider loans, shareholder displeasure or alleged fraudulent activities.

The CBZ Holdings Limited Board of Directors announces that Never Nyemudzo will be retiring from the Group with effect from 31 December 2017, after three years as Group Chief Executive Officer. In the meantime and with immediate effect, Never Nyemudzo will proceed on leave and Peter Zimunya will assume the role of Acting Group Chief Executive Officer. Peter Zimunya is currently the Managing Director for CBZ Bank Limited.