Tax Evasion: Court to conduct Case Management Conference on March 19

The case of Michael Sumnaya Adedina, an accountant accused of forging Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) receipts to evade GH¢2,495,778 tax, has been adjourned for March 19, 2024.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Evans Kesse told an Accra Circuit Court that the prosecution had filed its disclosures.

According to him, the disclosures had been served on the accused person.

The court, presided over by Afia Owusua Appiah, adjourned the matter to March 19, 2024, for the Case Management Conference.

Adedina has been charged with unauthorized attempts to collect tax, forgery of official documents, fraudulent breach of trust, and making false or misleading statements contrary to Section 74 of the Revenue Administration Act 2016 (Act 915).

He has denied those charges and is currently on GH¢2million bail.

The case of prosecution is that the complainant is the country manager of BMG Infrastructure Company Limited located at Tarkwa in the Western Region.

The prosecution said the company was a foreign-owned mining waste processing company established in Tarkwa and registered with the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC).

According to the prosecution, Adedina approached the complainant and introduced himself as a professional accountant, who could prepare all their accounting books and represent their interest.

Consequently, the company outsourced all accounting matters, including statutory payments and the preparation of various tax types with GRA and SSNIT for its employees, to Adedina.

Since his appointment in 2021, Adedina prepared and collected funds from the company at the end of each month to pay for the various tax handles.

The prosecution said that after each payment, Adedina provided the complainant with legitimate GRA receipts as confirmation of payment.

The prosecutor stated that on May 31, 2022, the GRA conducted a tax audit on the activities of BMG Infrastructure Limited and discovered a tax debt of GH¢2,495,778.00 against the company, raising suspicions.

The prosecution said that the company initiated an investigation to determine the huge liability caused.

The court heard that investigations found that the accused failed to pay all the money he obtained from BMG as taxes to GRA for the period in question.

A report was then submitted to GRA via GIPC with relevant receipts for verification, and it was discovered that Adedina had falsified GRA’s official receipts.

Following the development, a complaint was made to the GRA Investigative Wing on December 29, 2023, and Adedina was arrested.

The prosecution said Adedina admitted the crime in his caution statement and disclosed that he downloaded the GRA payment receipts, modified them to add tax value and submitted the fake copies to the complainant as if actual taxes had been paid.

Adedina disclosed that he used part of the money to buy concessions for mining operations, but it went bad.

The prosecution said Adedina also indicated that he used a portion of the money to purchase a Toyota Hilux Pickup Truck, and a Lexus SUV for GHC55,000 and built a four-bedroom home in Tarkwa, Aboso.

The prosecution said investigations are underway to identify those assets.