$3.5m Money Laundering Suspect Dies

Nana Kwaku Adjei, the third suspect in a money laundering case involving the Chief Executive Officer of K-San Law Firm, Charles Owusu Juanah, and his friend Victor Amoah, an agronomist, is reported dead.

The Accra Financial Division Court presided over by Justice John Ajet-Nasam discharged the suspects following the State Attorney’s request to withdraw the old charges of the case and bring fresh ones.

The death of Nana Adjei, the third accused person (A3), was announced by his counsel, Joseph Turkson when the case was called yesterday.

The State Attorney, Edward Cudjoe from the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), told the court that due to the criminal nature of the case, the old charges needed to be withdrawn and replaced with fresh ones.

The court then discharged the suspects based on the State Attorney’s request.

The accused persons were alleged to have obtained $3.5million through money laundering activities. They had pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit crime and aiding and abetting money laundering activities.

They had been granted $4million bail each with two sureties, one to be justified by each of them after their lawyers, Ellis Owusu Fordjour, Thaddeus Sory and George Heward Mills had pleaded rigorously with the court for bail.

According to the facts of the case, Charles Juanah and Victor Amoah lured a Dubai-based businessman, Mohammed Shafiq, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Jampur Group, and his agents into the country to establish business dealings in gold.

When Mr. Shafiq and his agents arrived in Ghana, they were told that the gold had been lodged in a vault at the SG-SSB Bank and were requested to pay $3.5 million before it would be released to them.

It said the money was lodged in an account at the Abeka branch of the GT Bank and the alleged gold subsequently handed over to the buyers.

When Mr. Shafiq and his agents decided to verify the authenticity of the gold after it had been delivered, some of them were found to be fake.

Investigations conducted so far, according to the facts, revealed that Juanah drafted the contract agreement for the transactions, acted as solicitor to both the buyer and the seller, while Victor Amoah acted as consultant to Mr. Shafiq and his agents.

Nana Kwaku Adjei, A3, who was reported dead in court yesterday, reportedly posed as the gold dealer.