Judge Threatens To Throw Out Case Involving Absa Staff Accused Of Stealing GH¢1.2 Million From Customers

• The judge hearing the case involving the theft of monies from an Absa Bank has threatened to throw out the case
• The judge is upset at delays by the prosecution to file documents to initiate a trial of the suspects
• The main suspect is a staff of Absa who is alleged to have stolen GH¢1.2 million from customer accounts

The case involving the theft of GH¢1.2 million from Absa bank customer accounts by a staff could be thrown out of court.

The judge hearing the case warned that the case could be struck out because of the prosecution's failure to file disclosure for the trial to begin.

Since June 26, 2023, the prosecution has not submitted the required disclosures, according to reports.

The reason given by the prosecution has been an attempt to amend the charge sheet, provide brief facts, and seek advice from the Attorney General's department.

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Two weeks after the last adjournment, the prosecution claims it has not received any response from the Attorney General.

At the most recent hearing, the judge gave the prosecution one last warning to file the necessary documents by August 3, 2023, or risk having the case thrown out.

The main suspect in the case, Emmanuel Sakyi Afriyie, has been on remand since his arrest over a month ago.

Details of the theft

YEN.com.gh reported that Afriyie, a 25-year-old, is facing charges of forgery, falsification of accounts, stealing, and conspiracy to commit a crime.

He allegedly stole GH¢1,209,304.69 from the accounts of at least seven customers within a period of two months.

With the help of his accomplices, he sometimes initiated payments for his online courses with the funds in the accounts of the customers.

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For instance, in February 2023, Afriyie paid $174.30 from the Visa card account of Rev Cynthia Patricia Asamoah for his online coding course.

He was working at the Osu branch of the bank.

Fraud at banks

In 2020, the Bank of Ghana directed banks to secure the services of police officers to vet applicants before employment.

This was a response to an increase in the number of fraud cases at banks in the country.

The police officials are primarily required to establish if the applicant has a criminal record.

Source: YEN.com.gh