AN Accra circuit court yesterday granted bail in the sum of ?100 million with a surety to be justified to Reverend Apostle Ampofo Twumasi Ankrah, Head of the Repentant Church in Accra, who allegedly defrauded 43 people of ?82 million under the pretext of securing work for them in a cement factory in Singapore.
Apostle Ankrah pleaded not guilty to 43 counts of conspiracy and defrauding by false pretences The court, therefore, ordered that he surrendered his passport to the police and also report himself to the Odorkor Police every Monday at 9 am until further notice.
His alleged accomplice, Atta Bamfo, an accountant, is at large and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
In December last year, the accused was said to have gone to Dormaa-Ahenkro to announce on a radio station that the cement factory needed workers from Ghana and anybody who was interested should see him for registration.
Upon hearing the announcement, the complainants allegedly went to the accused, who charged them ?1.5 million for those who had passports and ?2.5 million for those who did not.
Prosecuting, Deputy Superintendent of Police Elizabeth Alormatu said the complainants are teachers, farmers, masons, drivers and carpenters from Dormaa-Ahenkro, Berekum and Techiman, all in the Brong Ahafo Region.
She said in December last year, Apostle Ankrah announced on a radio station at Dormaa-Ahenkro that a cement factory in Singapore wanted to employ Ghanaian workers.
She said after the announcement, Apostle Ankrah received from those complainants who had passports ?1.5 million each and those without passports ?2.5 million each.
Some of the complainants, she said, also went to Accra and paid money to the accused at his Sowutuom residence. He promised them that the company would buy tickets for all those who had applied for the jobs but did not have money to do so.
She said Apostle Ankrah took two of the complainants, namely, Kwasi Amakye and Anane Agyemeng, to Bamfo, who was to buy their tickets for them.
On meeting them, Bamfo allegedly collected $700 and $500 respectively from them and asked them to come for the tickets within one week.
The prosecutor said Apostle Ankrah asked the complainants to come to Accra so that he could take them to Singapore on January 27, 2005.
When they came to Accra on the said date, Apostle Ankrah postponed the trip to February 25, 2005, compelling the complainants to travel back to their hometowns.
They returned to Accra on February 20, 2005 and when Apostle Ankrah saw them he ran away from his house but he was arrested on February 24, 2004.
Bamfo, who did not buy the tickets, was also arrested and granted police enquiry bail but he had since gone into hiding.
