Referee David Laryea under investigations for pocketing court fines

FIFA assistant referee David Laryea who is a Circuit Court Registrar is alleged to have diverted and pocketed unspecified sums of money in court fines and fees.

This was after Chief Justice Ms Justice Sophia Akuffo dispatched three top auditors from the Judicial Service to probe embezzlement at the Adjabeng District Magistrate Court in Accra.

A source close to the registrar's office hinted the Daily Graphic that the diversion of court fees and fines was a practice at the Adjabeng Court Registry spanning many years.

A three-month investigation undertaken by the Daily Graphic established that conviction to a fine of GH¢2,400 in the case of the Republic v. Eric Duah, paid by the convict on May 17, 2017, was diverted and embezzled by the two cashiers.

The Daily Graphic has gathered that the investigations instituted by the audit team established by the Chief Justice would take a month to complete.

Already, the team has spent more than five days at the court verifying court receipts against amounts deposited into the Consolidated Fund.

A source at the Judicial Service who pleaded anonymity told the Daily Graphic that ''all the case dockets and receipt books for the last two years have been collected by the auditors''.