By Gifty Amofa, GNA
Accra, Dec. 17, GNA – Three persons on Monday appeared before an Accra Circuit Court charged with various offences including an attempted stealing of Gh¢166,250.00 from Ecobank.
They are Mark Ntonipa Owusu Boadu, a building contractor and a director of Markham Construction Works, Ellis Apan, a tailor and wisdom Kpogoh, a car rental operator.
They have all denied the charges and had been granted bail in the sum of GH¢170,000.00 each with three sureties each of which each of the sureties should earn not less than GH¢1,000.00 per month.
Boadu was charged with forgery and attempted stealing whilst Apan and Kpogoh were charged with abetment of crime.
They will make their next appearance on January 18, 2019.
Police Chief Inspector Emmanuel Haligah told the Court presided over by Mrs Harriett Jane Akweley Quaye that the first prosecution witness is the Investigations Officer of Ecobank Ghana limited whilst the three accused are residents of Accra.
The Prosecution said their accomplice, one Ibrahim is currently on the run.
He said on August 28, this year, Ecobank Ghana Transacting Processing Unit received an Ecobank cheque with a face value GH¢166,250.00 from Zenith bank for confirmation.
The cheque was to be drawn on the account of one William Oppong-Bio an Ecobank customer and it was to be paid to Boadu, a Zenith bank customer.
Chief Inspector Haligah said the Relationship Manager contacted the customer whose account the money was to be withdrawn on his phone number written at the back of the cheque purporting to be that of Oppong-Bio of which the customer asked the branch to honour the cheque.
He said not convinced, the Manager further engaged the supposed customer through a whatsapp chat on a known number of Oppong-Bio and found out that the customer had travelled to China and had not issued the cheque in question.
The Prosecution said further investigations upon the return of Oppong-Bio on his bank statement detected that GH¢4,900.00 had been withdrawn without his authorisation, so on November 18, this year, Boadu was traced and arrested by the Police.
In his caution statement, he admitted presenting the said earlier cheque adding that, the other with the face value GH¢166,250.00 was given to him by one Ibrahim, now at large.
Chief Inspector Haligah said Apan and Kpogoh who were also arrested confessed introducing Ibrahim to Boadu but failed to lead Police to him.
He said investigation revealed that Oppong-Bio’s cheque number was cloned and sim chip also swapped by the accused persons, thus confirming why the Relationship Manager’s call was received by another apart from Oppong-Bio.
They were then processed and put before court.
GNA
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