37-year old Mohammed Aminu Bonkonu has appeared before an Accra Court accused of defrauding one Ing. Alhaji Huseini Suleiman, former Project Manager at the Takoradi Port, in a sum of GH¢1,257,150 to lobby Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Maafo on his behalf for the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GHPA) Director-General position and acquisition of an oil license.
The complainant, who is a Civil Engineer, allegedly paid the whopping sum in trenches of $132,000 and €5,000, equivalent to GH¢726,000 and GH¢531,150 respectively to Mohammed.
This was contained in a police brief of facts presented by the Prosecutor, Assistant Superintended of Police Sylvester Asare Esq, before an Accra Circuit Court, presided over by Mr Emmanuel Essandoh.
According to the Prosecutor, the accused person is a resident of Sarpeiman in the Greater Accra Region, and in March this year, he was reported to the police to have demanded and received the various amounts under the pretence to give the monies to Mr Yaw Osafo Maafo for the said purpose.
He said the police, upon receiving the information, effected the arrest of Mohammed, who was said to have introduced himself to the complainant as a National Security operative, and that he can connect businessmen to high profile personalities in the government.
The accused person assured Alhaji Huseini Suleiman that he can connect him to Mr Osafo Maafo for the appointment or promotion as the Director General of the GPHA, as well as help him to acquire a license to operate an oil marketing company.
A/Supt Asare furthered: “In his quest to defraud complainant, accused mentioned government officials, including the Second Lady, Her Excellency Samira Bawumia, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, and Sarah Adwoa Safo, Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya, as his associates.”
Mohammed, in connection with the above, was said to have informed Alhaji Huseini Suleiman that he had discussed his appointment as Director General of the GPHA and the acquisition of oil marketing licence with the Senior Minister.
The accused person, in order to convince Alhaji Huseini, further told him that Mr Yaw Osafo Maafo would follow their discussion with a message -Whatsapp or SMS.
“The authors of those messages confirmed to the complainant that accused had discussed [the] complainant’s desire to be appointed as Director-General of GHPA and acquisition of [an] oil marketing licence.
“The purported Senior Minister’s whatsapp chat agreed to facilitate [the] complainant’s appointment as Director-General and acquisition of [an] oil marketing licence. Thus, the purported Senior Minster demanded various sums of monies from the complainant through whatsapp chats to facilitate the appointment of the complainant,” he said.
The said Senior Minster instructed the complainant through whatsapp chats to hand over all monies for the facilitation to the accused person, who was his trusted agent, for which Mohammed followed up to demand and received a “cash total sum of US$132,000, equivalent to GH¢760,000, €5,000, equivalent to GH¢31,150, and GH¢500,000 for the purported Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo.”
Assistant Supt. Asare said when the police contacted the Senior Minister he denied knowledge of the matter and the phone number used for the purported whatsapp communication exchanges.
Mohammed was then slapped with four counts of defrauding by false pretence and money laundering, contrary to Section 131(1) of Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and Section Anti-Money Laundering Act 2009 (Act 749) respectively.
The accused was granted bail in the sum of GH¢1.4 million with four sureties, of which all should be public servants earning not less than GH¢2,000, after his lawyer, Victor Kodzoga Adawudu, pleaded with the court yesterday to grant him bail.
The accused person is also to report to the police every Wednesday.
The following are the particulars of Mohammed’s offences as presented in court:
Count ‘1’ -Section 131(1) of Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29): Mohammed Aminu Bokonu, 37 years, between 2017 and 2018, at Sowutuom in the Greater Accra Circuit, with intent to defraud Alhaji Huseini Suleiman, obtained the consent of Alhaji Huseini Suleiman to part with cash the sum of US$50,000, equivalent to GH¢275,000, and GH¢350,000 by representing to Alhaji Huseini Suleiman that you (accused) would give same to Hon Osafo Maafo to facilitate his appointment as the Director General of Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority, a representation you knew to be false at the time of making it.
Count ‘2’- Section 131(1) of Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29): Mohammed Aminu Bokonu, 37 years, between 2017 and 2018, at Sowutuom in the Greater Accra Circuit Court, with intent to defraud Alhaji Huseini Suleiman obtained the consent of Alhaji Huseini Suleiman to part with cash the sum of US$82,00, equivalent to GH¢150,000, by representing to Alhaji Huseini Suleiman that you would give same to Hon Osafo Maafo to secure him Oil Marketing Company licence, a representation you knew to be false at the time of making it.
Count ‘3’- Section Anti-Money Laundering Act 2009 (Act 749): Mohammed Aminu Bokonu, 37 years, between 2017 and 2018, at Sowutuom in the Greater Accra Region, took possession of US$132,000 and €5,000, equivalent to GH¢726,000, knowing it to be proceeds of crime.
Count 4- Mohammed Aminu Bokonu, 37 years, between 2017 and 2018, at Sowutuom in the Greater Accra Region, took possession of a total sum of GH¢531,150, knowing it to be proceeds of crime.
The post Ex-GPHA Manager pays GH¢1.257m …for D-G job, oil license appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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