Referees chief worried over David Laryea's fraudulent acts

General Secretary of the Referees Association of Ghana (RAG) Joseph Ayitey Mensah says his outfit are perturbed by the plight of referee David Laryea, who is reported to be facing the law court after he was alleged to have diverted and pocketed unspecified sums of money in court fines and fees.

Reports went rife on Thursday that, the FIFA assistant referee has been charged with fraudulent activity 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.

However, speaking to Kumasi-based radio station Oyerepa 100.7 FM, referees chief, Joseph Mensah was perplexed by the reports but stated they must wait on the final report from the court before coming into a conclusion.

"Refs Association of Ghana worried about FIFA assistant ref David Laryea on allegations levelled against him, we can't do much about it but have to wait for the Chief Justice's report so we can also do something about it," he told Oyerepa FM.

Daily Graphic reports suggest that there is a diversion of court fees and fines practice at the Adjabeng Court Registry which has spanned for 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 gathered that the investigations instituted by the audit team established by the Chief Justice would take a month to complete.

The team is reported to have 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."