Chinese Investors Duped By Lebanese & Ghanaian

Two men, Jack Yacub Abdullah, a 64-year-old Lebanese and his Ghanaian counterpart, Prince Edward Arko, 57, have been arraigned before an Accra Circuit Court. They both pleaded not guilty to defrauding by false pretences contrary to section 131 of act 29 of 1960 and have been granted a 50 million cedis bail each with a surety to be justified.

Presenting the facts of the case to the crowded court presided over by his honour Mr. Anthony Oppong, Chief Inspector Emmanuel Yao Amegah said the two accused person claim they are businessmen and are based in Agona Swedru. The complainants are two Chinese nationals, Dong Lang Bo and Dong Li Bo who reside at Dzorwulu in Accra.

He said Jack and Prince claimed they have established a company to produce sunflower seeds under the name Land and Sea Resources. The accused persons he said told the two Chinese investors that their companies have branches in the Central and Eastern regions and that they have over 2000 farmers who grow their sunflowers.

Under such false representation, they convinced the two Chinese to establish a company; the United Oil Mills Limited and got it registered under the Companies Code of 1979. They further imported oil extraction machines valued at $ 160,000. The two were required to acquire a warehouse, a site to house the factory and provide the sunflower seeds to enable the company produce sunflower oil.

When the machines got to the Tema Harbour, the two accused persons could not raise a pesewa to clear the machines as was in the agreement. Dong and Dong mobilised funds to clear the machines. Just after that, the accused persons again convinced them to send the machines to Agona Swedru and the obliged.

With the assistance of the Member of Parliament for Agona West, Honourable Samuel Kwaku Obodai, they secured the old fertilizer depot belonging to the Ministry of Agriculture at Swedru and deposited the machines there.

After some time when the Dong’s realised that the two accused persons had failed their part of the agreement and requested that they return their machines to them, they refused. They therefore had no option than to report to the Director of Police CID.

A team of policemen who were delegated to investigate retrieved the machines and brought them to the CID Headquarters for safekeeping.

Police investigations revealed that the two accused persons had no sunflower plantations as alleged. An invitation extended to them by the police was not heeded to as a result, criminal summons were issued to them to appear in court.

In a statement to the police, the MP confirmed the story and said they even collected three million cedis from him to help clear the machines.

Meanwhile the court has also ordered that the machines retrieved be released to the complainants as it rightly belongs to the.

At press time, the two were still in custody, as they did not have sureties to bail them.