The President of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and a director of Celltel, a cell phone company, Prince Kofi Kludjeson and seven others have been sued at an Accra High Court for acting fraudulently which has resulted in financial loss and damage to Celltel Limited.
Consequently, Celltel Limited, the plaintiff, is demanding from the defendants 474,232.60 dollars, an interest on the amount from October 1999 until the date of payment to the plaintiff at the London Inter Bank Ordinary Rate (LIBOR) plus four per cent. It is also claiming Counsel’s fees, and exemplary damages.
The defendant is Inter-Ideal Limited, with other co-defendants as Stephen Kweku Agrobesah, trading under the name and style Inter-Ideal Refrigeration and Air-condition Services, Stephen Quarcoo Agrobesah and Michael Quarcoo Amedorme. The rest are Lucas Paul Adotey Addo, Unilink Limited and Corporate Ventures limited.
The plaintiff contended that Prince Kofi Kludjeson, Stephen Quarcoo Agrobesah and Michael Quarcoo Amedorme fraudulently and purposely set up a sham entity, with the active connivance of Lucas Paul Adotey Addo, Unilink Limited and Corporate Ventures Limited to swindle it through the supply of 24 generators valued at 509,274 dollars.
Tracing the background, the statement said in June 1999, Celltel Limited through its chairman, Prince Kofi Kludjeson required 24 generator sets for its operations and therefore sought quotations from certain companies giving specifications for the equipment it required.
It stated that by a letter dated June 25, 1999, it showed that whiles Inter-Ideal Limited was yet to be incorporated, persons pretending to be acting on behalf of the company and who described it as having “rich experience and facilities”, in connection with the supply and installation of generator sets, gave quotations to supply Celltel with generators worth 509,274 dollars.
The delivery date specified in the quotation was six weeks, and Inter-Ideal Ltd. required full payment as confirmation order. The defendant’s quotation was accepted by the plaintiff, through a sham and fraudulent bidding process and review of the bids, with at least the knowledge of one Prince Kofi Kludjeson, a director of the Plaintiff.
The statement said instructions was on October 21, 1999 given to Celltel’s bankers to remit to the defendant by wire transfer, the sum of 509,274 dollars to the bank account numbered 0321 2621 6251 at Standard Chartered Bank, Adabraka, as provided by the defendant (or persons pretending to represent the defendant) as its bank account in a letter dated October 20, 1999.
The plaintiff contends this action to be fraud as Inter-Ideal Ltd had not even been incorporated as at that date and accordingly could not own a bank account.
