Court remands businessman for fraud

A Ho Circuit Court presided over by Mr. Felix Datsomor has remanded one Kwaku Boateng Bawa, 43, a businessman in Police custody.

He was charged for defrauding by false pretence and has been asked to re-appear on February 26, 2021, while investigation is ongoing to arrest his other two accomplices.

Police Chief Inspector, Stephen Atidzon, told the court, the complainants (names withheld) were personnel of the Nation Builder's Corps (NABCO) at the Ho office of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), while the accused is a businessman residing in Mamprobi-Accra.

The Prosecution said on June 15, 2020, Bawa, called Fred Tamaklo Mawuku, Human Resource Manager of the GRA, Ho, with cell phone number 0559529851 and introduced himself as one Mr. Lartey of the Human Resource Department of the Authority's Head Office in Accra.

The prosecution said the accused then requested to speak to Mr. Kwame Owusu Bamfo, the Volta Regional Manager of the Authority, which Mr Mawuku obliged and handed over the phone to him.

Chief Inspector Atidzon said the accused informed the Manager that the Headquarters of the Authority needed five hardworking personnel under him for permanent appointment.

The prosecution said the Manager then informed the complainant about the issue and submitted their particulars to the accused through SMS.

It established that the accused after receiving the details of the complainant made contact with them individually and demanded some amount of money from them to facilitate the process.

The Chief Inspector said the complainants complied with the accused's demand and sent him the money, GH¢11,400.00 through his Mobile Money account numbers 0559529851 and 0244222843.

But the prosecution said further checks by the complainants revealed that the accused was not a staff of the GRA and reported the case to the Police.

Chief Inspector Atidzon said on February 5, 2021, the accused was arrested by the Police at Mamprobi-Accra.

"In the accused's caution statement, he stated that he collected the cards from one Korley, a week prior to his arrest, however, failed to lead the Police to the said Korley," the prosecution noted.

The prosecution said an amount of GH¢4,000.00 was retrieved from him.

Sergeant Prince Dogbatse, Public Relations Officer of the Volta Regional Police Command, reacting to the development in an interview with the Ghana News Agency entreated the public to be vigilant.

He said cases of fraud are on the rise in recent times, especially regarding recruitment.