A forty-five year old businessman identified as Emmanuel Tetteh appeared before the Accra Circuit Court presided over by His Honour Samuel Bright Acquah. According to a 3News report the accused is facing charges of defrauding by false pretenses and money laundering after allegedly selling a plot of land situated in Cantonments to multiple individuals despite having no legal title to the property.
Court documents cited by Graphic Online indicate that the complainant in the case is a retiree who discovered the alleged scam after visiting the site to begin construction. The prosecution stated that the accused presented himself as the legitimate representative of the family that owned the land and produced forged documents to facilitate the sale. These allegations are currently being treated as unconfirmed by the court pending the presentation of evidence during the trial phase.
The Accra Circuit Court heard that the total amount involved in the alleged fraudulent transactions reaches five hundred thousand Ghana Cedis. Reports from GhanaWeb mention that the accused pleaded not guilty to all charges brought against him. The prosecution led by Inspector Isaac Sarpong requested that the court remand the businessman into police custody to allow for further investigations into additional complaints from other potential victims.
The presiding judge granted the accused bail in the sum of five hundred thousand Ghana Cedis with three sureties who must be justified. According to a report by Citi Newsroom the court ordered the businessman to report to the police every two weeks until the case concludes. The legal proceedings are scheduled to resume at the Accra Circuit Court later this month for further hearing on the matter as investigators continue to verify the authenticity of his land titles.