Trader on GH¢80,000.00 bail over visa fraud

An Accra Circuit Court has granted a GH¢80,000.00 bail with two sureties to a trader over alleged visa fraud.

The Court ordered that the sureties be justified with a title document. Michael Adjei Gyasi, 52, has denied the offence and he will return to the court on March 8, 2023.

Police Inspector Ebenezer Teye-Akuffo told the Court presided over by Mrs Susanna Eduful that Mr Sampson Dzelu, the complainant was a driver residing at Amasaman whilst Gyasi, and the accused person, a trader, also residing at Taifa.

Inspector Teye-Akuffo said on June 20, 2022, the complainant together with a witness accompanied the complainant’s boss to the Kotoka International Airport to travel.

The prosecution said both the complainant and the witness met the accused person who allegedly told the complainant that he had also brought his passengers to ensure that they boarded the flight before he left.

It said the accused person also allegedly said he worked at the Mexico Embassy in Accra and asked the complainant if he would love to travel outside the country. The prosecution said the complainant told the accused person that his boss was in the US and that he would love to join the boss there.

It said the accused person assured and convinced the complainant that if he gave him GH¢28,000.00 he could easily acquire Mexico Visa for him without any difficulty or stress.

The prosecution said the complainant became convinced and both exchanged contact numbers, thus on June 25, 2022, the complainant received a phone call from the accused person, who told him that he had a slot from his workplace but he had decided to give the opportunity to the complainant to travel.

It said the complainant decided to give it a try, sold his car and gave GH¢28,000.00 to the accused person to secure the said Visa for him.

The prosecution said the accused person after he succeeded in taking the money promised to get the complainant the visa within a month, but he had failed.

It said when the complainant contacted the accused person after the expiration of the one month, he (accused) allegedly asked him to start his preparation towards the travelling and that everything was ready.

The prosecution said a few days later, the complainant called the accused person again, but his mobile phone was switched off and all efforts made to get the accused person proved futile.

It said the complainant who became unemployed after disposing ofF his car kept searching for the accused person at both the embassy office and the Kotoka International Airport but to no avail.

The prosecution said the complainant met a Senior Immigration Officer who worked at the Airport and gave the accused person’s picture to him for assistance.

The Court heard that on January 06, 2023, the accused person was arrested at KIA by the Immigration Officer and was identified by the complainant as the one who allegedly duped him.

The prosecution said the accused person admitted the offence in his investigation cautioned statement and told Police that after he had collected the money from the complainant, he travelled to Kumasi to attend to his sick mother and had used the money to settle her mother’s medical bills