Chinese investor dupes coy of $63,000

... Cannot be located after police bail

A Chinese investor, Miss Ada Zhao Rong who is being investigated by the police for allegedly duping a Ghanaian registered gold company, Dawu Gold Resources Limited of about $63,000 has jumped police bail since last March. The police said they did not know her whereabouts. His surety, one Isaac Ephram, too said he had not been able to contact her.

Miss Ada was alleged to have received the money on behalf of Dawu from a group of Chinese intending to invest in the gold industry in the Ghana.

Ada who was said to hold 60% shares in the company in trust for the Chinese investors, received $33,000 in China and $30,000 via bank wire transfer to International Commercial Bank in Tema. She then allegedly issued the company?s stock in China to the investors, an action considered a violation of the companies? code.

On realizing that she had failed to turn over the investment money to Dawu, the group immediately authorized legal action to recover the money. The matter was reported to the Police in Tema who arrested Ada and retrieved $3,000 and ?8 million from her and impounded her passport.

The Chronicle, however, learnt that the police later released the items to her, which the Ghanaian company contended was improper since they could be used as exhibits in court. ?The money shouldn?t have been released to her until investigations are completed?, one of the directors of Dawu, Miss Love Bello said.

Dawu said it had sent a petition to the Ministry of the Interior about the way the investigations were conducted but it had not received any response.

The Ghanaian company said it feared the suspect would not be compelled to return since there was no extradition treaty between Ghana and China on criminal issues.

However Detective Inspector Atakpla of the Tema Police told The Chronicle that the docket of the case had been sent to the Police headquarters in Accra for further investigations and advice.

Dawu Gold Resources Limited was incorporated in May 2003 to deal in gold processing and other gold related products. Miss Ada was said to have rather reluctantly opened a bank account for the company last December subsequent to her opening a private account on her visit visa.

According to Miss Bello, Ada had resisted all efforts to give legal backing to the operations of the company but remained the focal point to the Chinese investors in collaboration with Mr. Wu, the spokesman for Dawu in china.

?She kept all records of the company, including minutes,? Miss Bello said.

Further checks in china about Miss Ada have revealed that a Chinese company, Asian Products Supply Corp. had sued her and Wu for fraud.

Meanwhile The Chronicle has information that another Chinese has flown to join the web of frauds using Ghanaian companies to steal money.