Three workers of the New Edubiase Multi Credit Savings & Loans Limited Agency have been arrested for allegedly conspiring to steal GH¢109,541.00 from the financial institution.
The accused persons are Akowuah Sandy-Dickson, the agency manager who lives at Abuakwa in Kumasi; Janet Owusu, a cashier, and Prosper Oppong, a security man, who are both residents of New Edubiase.
The trio, who are now in the firm grip of the Suntreso Police in Kumasi, have been charged for conspiracy and stealing and are expected in court soon.
According to a police report sighted by DAILY GUIDE, the case docket has been forwarded to the Judicial Police Officer (JUPOL) to be taken to the electronics distributor to determine the appropriate court to handle the case.
The report said on September 24, 2020, the internal audit department of the bank embarked on a routine audit work at the New Edubiase Agency, which operates under the Obuasi branch, and some fishy deals in the bank were uncovered.
During the audit, it was revealed that all the three accused persons have conspired and stolen a total of GH¢109,541.00, a development which has the potential of weakening the financial base of the agency.
Giving the breakdown of the misappropriated amount, the report said the agency manager and the cashier together stole an amount of GH¢27,770.00, being deposits of customers that were not duly credited to their accounts.
It further disclosed that the agency manager and the cashier again misappropriated GH¢26,071.00 from bulk ‘susu’ deposits from customers but they were also not credited to their various accounts.
Again, the audit report revealed that the agency manager also stole GH¢54,770.00 from some customers accounts without their consent and approval, which is against the rules of the bank.
It was also revealed that on March 3, 2020, Akowuah Sandy-Dickson instructed Prosper Oppong to collect a cash deposit of GH¢1,000 from a customer and also sign the customer’s passbook, which the security man did as instructed.
After being informed about the misappropriation of cash in the agency, management reported the case to the Suntreso police, who swiftly apprehended the three accused persons to assist in investigations.
Further investigations also revealed that cash withdrawals and deposits transactions for the following days 11/1/19; 4/4/20; 25/4/20; 11/7/20 and 18/7/20 were not forwarded to the Obuasi branch to be keyed into appropriate accounts. As a result, the deposited moneys were stolen by the agency manager.
The police report further said the branch manager admitted part of the offences in his caution statement but apportioned some blame to Janet Owusu, the cashier.
Janet Owusu, in her caution statement, said the branch manager collected the amount in question from her, being the deposits which could not be found on the summary sheets of the field cashiers, adding that was the reason those moneys could not be credited to customer’s accounts.
Prosper Oppong, on his part, mentioned Sandy-Dickson as the one who sent him to collect a deposit of GH¢1,000 from a customer, adding that Sandy-Dickson met him outside the banking hall and collected the said amount.
After investigations, the police charged all the three accused persons, who are expected to be arraigned in the coming days.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi