The Fraud Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service has arrested two people believed to have used the name of Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, Minister of Communications, to defraud an Indian of $24,000.
The two are George Jumbo Chikadibia, aka Dr. Williams, 39, unemployed and Ibrahim Natt Kangbanya, 45, a car dealer.
The two were arrested by the police at Empress Hotel, East Legion, Accra.
Briefing journalists at a news conference in Accra yesterday, the Director-General of CID, COP Prosper Agblor, said sometime in June this year, the complainant in the case, an Indian, received a series of e-mails purported to have been sent by Dr. Omane Boamah.
According to the CID boss, the said e-mails contained information that he (the minister) had over $5 billion which he intended to invest abroad and proposed to do business with the complainant.
COP Agblor stated that the complainant subsequently received a signed Deed of Partnership Agreement, also through his e-mail, for the formation of a company to be named Kanoovi Ventures.
The Director-General of CID indicated that the self-styled �minister� convinced the complainant to pay over $24,000 to certain persons - Jerry Signia and Godfred Billary � who were resident in Dubai and India respectively, under the pretext of sending over $10 million to the complainant for the supposed investment. COP Agblor stated that the suspected fraudsters continued to demand huge sums of money from the complainant, but he was reluctant to make any further payments.
Complainant In Ghana
The CID boss said on September 4, 2014, the complainant arrived in Ghana without the knowledge of the two men, to follow up on the supposed business.
He explained that the complainant, while in Accra, called the purported imposter and informed him that he had arrived in Ghana, only for him (imposter) to say that he was on an official assignment outside the country.
�The imposter directed his accomplice called Dr. Williams, who posed as a personal assistant to the minister, to meet the complainant at his (complainant�s) hotel to discuss the supposed business,� COP Agblor revealed.
He stated that the complainant became apprehensive and proceeded to the Ministry of Communications to verify things for himself, adding that �the complainant was shocked to learn that the substantive minister was in Ghana and had no knowledge of any business dealings with him.�
He disclosed that a report was made leading to the arrest of the two suspects.
Remand COP Agblor disclosed that the two suspects were arraigned before an Accra Circuit Court on September 10 for the offence.
He said they were granted bail in the sum of GH�200,000 with three sureties each � two to be justified � in the case of Chikadiba and also ordered him to surrender his Nigerian passport to the registrar of the court.
<<Print>>