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A Sri Lankan businessman has been hauled before an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly defrauding his friend of $80,000 under the pretext of assisting him to buy gold in Ghana. The accused person, Aruna Janaka Muthugama, who was on remand, was granted a GH�20,000 bail by Mrs. Patience Mills Tetteh yesterday after he pleaded not guilty to a charge of defrauding by false pretences. The accused person is reported to have connived with some Ghanaian self-styled businessman who promised the complainant, Rasapaksa Gedara Jaya Sundara, 5 kilograms of gold, but after receiving the money they went underground. However, although Muthugama admitted to collecting the said money from the complainant, he maintained that he had no intention of defrauding his friend, adding that he did not know the businessmen were fraudsters. Narrating the incident, ASP A.A Annor informed the court that both the complainant and the accuse are Sri Lankans and somewhere in June 2008, one Suduth based in Sri Lanka introduced the complainant to the accused who claimed to be a businessman resident in Ghana for the past six years.