Service personnel caught in GCB fraud case

XYZ Business can report on authority that national service personnel were allegedly involved in the fraudulent wiring of huge sums of money from the Ghana Commercial Bank’s vault into some private accounts.

Investigations by XYZ Business have revealed that management of the state-owned bank has taken criminal action against the national service personnel, who allegedly were part of those who masterminded the entire fraudulent operation.

It is not yet clear how much money the syndicate succeeded in siphoning from the bank’s vault, nor for how long the crime went on, before the fraud was detected.

The operation was allegedly coordinated with the connivance of the bank’s IT department.

It has led to the freezing of five accounts belonging to two individuals and two different companies by the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO).

The account bearers include Mr Akato Haizel (two separate accounts), Matilda Dankwa Adjoa, B J Net Company ltd and Osuaka Ventures.

A letter signed by the Executive Director of EOCO dated December 27, 2013 and sent to the Managing Director of GCB at the Bank’s Head Office in Accra and copied to the Head of Banking Supervision at the Central Bank, ordered the immediate freezing of the five accounts.

The letter said: “Please take notice that pursuant to the authority conferred on the Executive Director by section 33 of the Economic and Organised Crimes Office Act 2010 (act 804), the Executive Director of EOCO has directed the freezing of the bank account of [Akato Haizel, Matilda Dankwa Adjoa, B J Net Company ltd and Osuaka Ventures] with your branches pending investigations into various crimes”.

“This order takes immediate effect. Until this order is revoked or elapses, your bank shall not allow any transactions on the account without the written authority of the Executive Director except the ff:

“Deposits / credit into the account including but not limited to cash transfers from other sources, interests if any, deposits and credits resulting from the encashment of financial instruments such as treasury bonds, shares, bills of exchanges etc, and additions of financial assets from other sources”.

The letter said: “Further in pursuant of investigations, you are requested to coorporate and furnish the Executive Director of ECOCO with the ff:

“Account opening documents, statements of accounts from date the said account was opened to date, copies of cheques drawn on the account for the same period, swift messages and transfers into the account”.