The CIO's Business Network

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Summary

Zimbabwe’s Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) likely has a secret stream of money, The Sentry has found. Publicly available information suggests that the CIO controls Terrestrial Holdings, a business conglomerate of companies involved in hemp, solar energy, coal mining, tourism, and golf.

The CIO’s remit includes both domestic and international intelligence matters, and its agents have been accused of partisan and violent behavior in the past. For instance, in the 2023 election, one of the agency’s leaders helped establish a ruling party affiliate criticized for intimidating rural voters.

While the bulk of the CIO’s funds come from the official budget, the agency—which has a dedicated investment branch—has been known to engage in private business ventures as a source of off-budget financing. In the past, CIO joint ventures have been involved in mushroom farming, exporting baby elephants, and diamond mining. Most recently, CIO-linked companies Terrestrial Mining and Whitelime Mining have been awarded coal mining concessions covering 50,000 hectares near Lake Kariba in western Zimbabwe, an area close to large proposed and existing coal-fired power plants. A representative for both Terrestrial Holdings and Terrestrial Mining said that claims of CIO control or ownership were not true.

The existence of an autonomous CIO business network matters because the agency—which has reportedly engaged in election-related intimidation—requires civilian control, including full financial oversight and transparency, to prevent abuse. Security forces with their own sources of revenue can more easily go rogue.

CIO-Linked Companies in Zimbabwe

Name	Company Number/Year	Standing
Terrestrial Holdings	unknown, records missing at registry	Active
Terrestrial Mining	14849/2020	Active
Whitelime Mining	28910/2008	Active
Chimanimani Logistics	unknown, records missing at registry	Active
Chapel Mining	5730/2010	Possibly dormant or defunct
Sino Zim Development	1788/2010	Possibly dormant or defunct
Sino Zim Cotton Holdings	1708/2010	Possibly dormant or defunct
Sino Zim Diamonds	8915/2007	Possibly dormant or defunct
Terrestrial Safaris	5929/2011	Possibly dormant or defunct
Rudgold Investments	4960/2012	Possibly dormant or defunct
Dashville Enterprises	8384/2012	Possibly dormant or defunct
Todware Investments	12801/2005	Possibly dormant or defunct

Recommendations

The government of Zimbabwe

The government of Zimbabwe should dissolve the CIO’s businesses, wind up its investment branch, and ensure through appropriate national security legislation that there is, in future, just one source of revenue for the agency, voted for by Parliament in the annual budgeting process. This would enable better oversight and accountability and allow for security priorities to be balanced against other civilian funding requirements during the budgeting process.

The government should introduce an online, public corporate registry of directors and beneficial owners to replace Zimbabwe’s difficult-to-access paper-based system in which up-to-date information is often missing. At present, the records for Terrestrial Holdings and Chimanimani Logistics are missing from the company registry, while the records for Whitelime Mining appear to be out of date.

Banks and commercial counterparties

Banks and firms doing business with Terrestrial Holdings and related companies should conduct enhanced due diligence—consistent with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights—into the ownership structure of the entity to identify and mitigate risks associated with direct or indirect support for a state security agency whose members are accused of human rights abuses and undermining democracy.

Companies operating in Zimbabwe’s coal mining sector should conduct ongoing due diligence consistent with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals From Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas, with particular attention paid to identifying and mitigating risks associated with direct or indirect support for the state security agency, whose members are accused of human rights abuses and undermining democracy.