Man, 52, Charged For Illegal Banking Operations

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday, 22 May 2007
A former employee of Consolidated Discount House (CDH), who allegedly operated a banking business without a licence from the Bank of Ghana (BoG), has been granted ¢2 billion bail with a surety by an Accra Circuit Court.

He is to appear in court again on June 14.

Samuel Ralph Kwame Asamoah, 52, is said to have used his position at CDH to transfer ¢2,057,711.128 belonging to Kwame Acheampong Kyei, Managing Director of Gemini Life Insurance Company (GLICO), to his New Land Trust and Consultancy Limited, without the complainant’s consent.

Asamoah pleaded not guilty to two counts of undertaking a banking business without a licence and defrauding by false pretences.

Presenting the facts of the case, Assistant Superintendent of Police, George Abavelim, told the court presided over by Justice Frank Manu that in 1996, the complainant, who was investing with the CDH, drew cheques from his bankers, CDH, where the accused was his scheduled officer in charge of the investment.

The CDH in turn provided annual and biannual returns on the complainant’s investment and in the last quarter of 1998, the complainant applied to CDH to disinvest part of his funds only to realise that the investments had dwindled considerably.

Upon enquiry, complainant discovered that the accused had used his position to transfer ¢523,825,340 of his investment into New Land Trust and Consultancy Limited where he is the Managing Director.

The accused, on his arrest, allegedly said he had established the private company and had transferred part of the complainant’s investments into it.

Prosecution said the accused also made representations to the complainant that his company had the prospect of yielding higher returns on the investment than CDH that by September 2003, the investment was ¢2,057, 711,128.

When the complainant attempted to have his money returned to him, the accused issued a cheque for ¢1 billion but stopped the transaction before it was due.

The prosecution said all efforts by the complainant to get the accused pay the funds yielded no positive results.