An Accra Circuit Court remanded a businessman named as Emmanuel Amains into police custody after he was charged with defrauding by false pretense and money laundering. According to a GhanaWeb report and court documents cited by Graphic Online the suspect allegedly collected approximately two point one million Ghana Cedis from an investor. The prosecution told the court that the transaction was intended for the purchase of five kilograms of gold bars which were never delivered to the complainant.
Court records indicate that the complainant contacted the accused through a business intermediary seeking to purchase gold for export. The Ghana News Agency reported that the suspect allegedly showed the investor genuine gold samples to gain his trust before the financial transaction occurred. Once the funds were transferred the accused reportedly failed to produce the gold bars and became difficult to reach resulting in a formal complaint to the police.
During the court session presided over by Judge Isaac Addo the prosecution requested more time to conclude investigations into the whereabouts of the funds. The Graphic Online report stated that the defense counsel applied for bail arguing that the suspect has a fixed place of abode and would not jump bail. However the court denied the application and ordered the suspect to be remanded into custody to allow the Ghana Police Service to conduct further enquiries into the alleged fraud.
The suspect is scheduled to reappear in court later this month as investigators track the flow of the millions of cedis involved in the transaction. According to statements by the prosecution the authorities are also looking into whether other individuals assisted the suspect in the alleged scheme. The court has directed the police to ensure that all witness statements are filed before the next hearing to facilitate a speedy trial of the matter.