¢700M Fraud Hits Ken Agyepong's Oman FM

The offices of Oman Fm was last weekend thrown into a state of chaos as the Chief Executive Officer and bankroller of the station, Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyepong, went ranting in search of the Station Director, Martin Kwabena Kwakye to smash his face for embezzling his millions, and also defrauding him.

Mr. Kwakye had to seek refuge in a toilet, from the fire-spitting Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North, who is widely known for his scorching temper. Workers who witnessed the scene told The Herald, that the highly-charged MP would have killed his once trusted lieutenant and anti-government programmes host on Oman FM, had he laid hands on him.

Mr. Kwakye, also called KK, only sneaked out of the toilet and took to his heels when he was informed that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP had left the office. Before this, he had smartly phoned one of the Oman FM drivers to drive out his official car from the premises, thus giving Mr. Agyepong a false impression he was not around for the blows.

Snippets of information picked up by The Herald indicate that Mr. Kwakye who left his job at the Tema-based Adom FM to work with Oman FM since its inception, has technically lost his job as Station Director.

Insiders told The Herald that Mr. Kwakye, host of ‘Boiling Point’, a political programme aired on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8pm, could not account for huge sums of monies paid to him by some companies that the station served.

For instance, in 2009, Mr. Kwakye is reported to have been tasked to procure the services of a telecommunication organization for internet connectivity, but fraudulently presented an invoice of US$2,300 per month from the head office of Vodafone. However, management discovered later that the amount involve required for the service was rather GH¢500 but not the US$2,300 as presented by Mr. Kwakye.

Again, Mr. Kwakye who does the morning newspaper review segment dubbed National Agenda on Oman FM with Mr. Fiifi Boafo, between January and May this year, had also dubiously pocketed some ¢700 million belonging to the station. He had collected them from some churches, and given them air-time, without paying the money to the station.

When investigations were conducted and the anomaly was detected, he was asked to refund the money, which he promised to do but as at last Friday, he had failed to honour the promise.

Two churches, Resurrection Power and Living Bread Ministries were specifically named as having been allowed to broadcast on the station live for two years without paying a pesewa to the station. Management believes these churches paid their money to Mr. Kwakye who pocketed it.

Another claim against KK is that upon his appointment as the director of the station, he was given a 4×4 vehicle as his official car but barely three years into it use, he bequeathed that vehicle to his wife who now frequents Germany for her medical checkups and he has also clandestinely used the company’s name to purchase a saloon car under batter system.

Initially, many had attributed Mr Agyepong’s inability to fire KK to an alleged use of juju to charm him. But family sources told The Herald that Mr. Agyepong failed to dismiss KK, because his wife, Stella Agyepong, who manages both Net2 and Oman FM, had always begged her husband not to sack the erring radio presenter. Net2 is the television component of Mr. Agyepong’s media empire.

Unfortunately for KK, Mrs. Agyepong could not rescue him this time, because she is on a trip abroad, hence there was no one to plead for him. There is wide spread believe that the MP might not rescind his decision to sack him.

Surprisingly, workers at the station are in a jubilant mood, waiting to see Mr. Kwakye given his dismissal letter, which this paper is informed, was prepared last week, with Mr. Agyepong yet to sign it.

One female presenter, who is known to be very close to Mr. Kwakye, has also turned herself into a self-styled producer, where she forcibly brings people onto various show at the station, charge them a fee and pockets the money without the knowledge management.

It is not clear whether Agyepong will refer the fraud case to the police for investigations and possible prosecution, or will file a civil suit to recover his stolen millions.

But one thing is certain, Mr. Kwakye who never spares an opportunity to mock and condemn public officers for one thing or the other, will be disappointing listeners of Oman FM, “Boiling Point” programme tomorrow at 8pm. His irritating problem of interchanging the pronunciation of R and L in English words because of his native Twi language is off air for now.