Pastor in court for allegedly taking deposits without BoG license

The proprietor of DEK-NOCK, who was arrested for allegedly taking deposits without a license from the Bank of Ghana (BoG), has appeared in an Accra Circuit Court.

Enock Mawuli Sabah Kugbedzi, the head pastor of Kingdom Chapel International, Nungua-Buade, pleaded not guilty to “operating a deposit-taking institution without a license.”

During his arrest on July 19, 2024, the police retrieved cash amounts of GH¢265,049 and GH¢793,122.60 from his Ashaiman and Nungua offices, respectively.

Kugbedzi, who had legal representation, pleaded not guilty before the court presided over by Isaac Addo.

The court, after listening to arguments from the prosecution and Kugbedzi’s team of lawyers, admitted him to bail in the sum of GH¢500,000 with two sureties. It also directed Kugbedzi to report to the case investigator every Friday until further notice.

Earlier, the prosecution, led by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Seth Frimpong, opposed bail, stating that the case was still being investigated and requesting that Kugbedzi be remanded.

Kugbedzi’s lawyers, led by Paul Asibi Abarigah, requested the court to grant their client bail, assuring that he would appear to stand trial. The court, however, exercised its discretion in favor of Kugbedzi.

The facts presented to the trial judge were that the complainant, Wing Commander Kwame Asare Boateng (retired), is the head of security at BoG.

On June 28, 2024, the prosecution said the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters received a petition from BoG to investigate the activities of DEK-NOCK company.

The prosecution said the complainant reported that the company was operating a deposit-taking institution without a license from the central bank. It said the accused’s company was located in Nungua and Ashaiman.

Following receipt of the information, the Ghana Police Service undertook initial investigations, and on July 19, 2024, a team of personnel from the CID and National Operations Directorate, as well as BoG officials, went to Nungua and Ashaiman for investigations.

The court heard that at the Ashaiman branch, the team retrieved several documents, including transaction books and sheets, customers’ passbooks, an HP laptop, and cash amounting to GHC265,049 from the office.

According to the prosecution, at the Nungua branch, the team arrested Kugbedzi, the company’s sole proprietor, and seized many clients’ passbooks, loan forms, transaction record sheets and books, a server, a hard drive, six computer system units, and GH¢793,122.60 in cash.

The prosecution said investigations are underway.