Banker jailed 5 years for stealing GH¢115,000 of customer's savings

The Asamankese Circuit Court, presided over by His Honor Abubakari Abass Adams, has sentenced a South Akim Rural bank mobile banker to five years in prison for stealing GH¢115,114.00 from the bank's customers.

Essah Gabriel Ansah, age 26, was judged guilty of theft in violation of section 124(1) of the Criminal Offenses Act of 1960 (Act 29).

The court was informed by Prosecutor Chief Inspector Richard Adukpo that the convicted individual resides in Osenase and was a Mobile Banker for South Akim Rural Bank assigned to Akwatia Zone in Denkyembuor District, where he collects customer deposits.

On May 6, 2021, a customer by the name of Ismaila Aliu Sulemana went to the Kade branch of the bank to withdraw money using his passbook, but he discovered a GH¢28,000.00 shortfall in his account.

The client alerted the manager of the Osenase branch to the possibility of fraud. The bank's preliminary investigation corroborated the customer's claims.

The offender confessed to the crime and was turned over to the police for further investigation.

During an investigation conducted by Inspector Richard Adu Sarkodie, the defendant admitted to concealing the deposits of numerous other customers.

An internal audit of the funds collected by the convict revealed that the individual had concealed and misappropriated a total of One Hundred and Fifteen Thousand, Four Hundred and Fourteen Cedis (GH¢115,414,00).

The accused was able to return a meager GH¢2,000.

Consequently, he was charged with the offense and brought before the court, where he was found culpable and sentenced to prison.

In Ghana, fraud involving employees of financial institutions is widespread.

A recent report by the Bank of Ghana on fraudulent activities in the banking sector revealed that more than half of incidents of criminal activity in 2020 were aided by staff, with the total value of reported cases surpassing GH1 billion for the first time.

According to the Banks' & SDIs Fraud report, 56 percent of fraud incidents reported in 2020 involved staff members of the reporting institutions, up from 51 percent reported the year prior.