Unemployed granted bail over fraud

A 38-year old unemployed man, who allegedly swindled a businessman of an amount of GHC170,000.00, has been granted a GHC200,000.00 bail with four sureties, by a Kumasi Circuit Court.

Ake Raphael, the accused, is said to have promised to double the said amount for the complainant by printing additional genuine Ghana Cedi notes and succeeded in taking away the money, when complainant fell for the bait.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge of defrauding by false pretences and would re-appear before the Court presided over by Mr. Alibaba Bature on November 11, this year.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Felix Akowuah, prosecuting told the Court that Joshua Adzigbe, complainant lives at Adiembra in Kumasi, while the accused has no permanent place of abode.

On September 10, this year, a witness in the case, Ibrahim Mohammed in the company of two others, paid a visit to the complainant at his office at Santasi, in Kumasi and told him that they could print genuine Ghana cedi currency notes for him, the Court was told.

He told the court that, the accused Ake Raphael, on that same day, called the complainant on the telephone with an Ivorian number confirming that what the two men told him.

Prosecution said the complainant, after the confirmation gave cash of GHC170,000.00 to the two men to enable them to go and bring the machine for the printing of the notes.

Few days later, the accused called the complainant telling him that the two who received the money, had a problem, so he would bring the machine himself.

The complainant became suspicious and decided to trick accused to meet him in Accra for an additional GHC300,000.00, ASP Felix Akowuah said.

Accused obliged and he was arrested by the police during that meeting.

He did not admit the offence in his caution statement, but was charged and arraigned after police preliminary investigations.