Authorities have arrested Emmanuel Sakyi Afriyie, a 25-year-old contract employee at one of Ghana’s biggest banks, on allegations of embezzling more than GHC1.2 million from clients’ accounts.
The suspect is accused of stealing from the bank accounts of numerous clients, including those of a deceased judge and a former Inspector General of Police. He spent two months transferring the money from the accounts of numerous customers at the bank’s Osu branch in Accra.
Some of the money was allegedly transferred to his own account at another bank as well as to the accounts at other banks and mobile money accounts of his 17 accomplices. He is reportedly said to have used some of the money to buy a Toyota Camry and an iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Afriyie had planned to secretly fly to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, with his girlfriend after buying tickets.
Unfortunately for him, the security authorities acted fast, set traps, and eventually caught up with him on June 4, 2023, at Kotoka International Airport. The defendant is suspected of conducting the fraudulent activities while posing as his employer.
He allegedly secretly recorded his boss using a mobile phone while she entered her password, then analysed the recording in order to figure out the code. Some of his coworkers were arrested and sent to court, where they were kept in custody and released on bail. The charges against Afriyie and his coworkers include conspiracy and theft.
He is the only defendant accused of multiple charges of fraudulent accounting and document forgery; his total number of charges stands at 13.
On June 16th, 2023, he will have to face Judge Ellen Ofei-Ayeh in court again. In the meantime, the police continue to hunt for eleven other suspects who may be involved.
