Denise Ndukwu
A 38-year-old Nigerian has been arrested by the Osu Police for allegedly posing as a secretary of the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah to defraud a Vietnamese investor to the tune of $105,740.
The suspect, Denise Ndukwu, native of Imo State, Nigeria, according to police reports, allegedly connived with three others, currently at large, to swindle the victim.
One of his accomplices has been identified as Robert Amuzu, a Ghanaian, but the other suspects are yet to be identified.
Briefing DAILY GUIDE, Crime Officer of the Osu District Police Command, ASP Richard Daplah said Ndukwu and his accomplices contacted the victim, Peter Wong Tung-Shung through the internet after they had conducted series of research on him.
Ndukwu and his accomplices, through the search, discovered that the investor was the next of kin of an investor identified as Le Van Khiem, who had invested in a bank in Ghana but died in an earthquake in Vietman.
The suspect and his accomplices sent a message with the letter head of the Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General to the victim, Tung –Shung and informed him that they could help transfer the inheritance payment of $8,500 through the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to his local bank account.
Investigations revealed that Ndukwu and his accomplices demanded some documents and money from the victim to enable them facilitate the transfer of the funds.
The suspects, after obtaining the documents of the victim, used them to withdraw an amount of $100,000 from his private account without his authorization.
The local bank in Ghana became suspicious of the transaction and blocked the accounts after which the suspects demanded $4,740 from the victim to further facilitate the transfer.
The suspects also told the victim that all arrangements had been made to transfer the money into his account but the Minister of Finance, Seth Terkper, who had to sign the final document, was reluctant.
The suspects therefore demanded $1,500 from the victim to facilitate the process and he sent them $1,000 but they claimed that it was not sufficient.
The victim, after receiving numerous calls from the suspects, who asked him to send the remaining $500, contacted a Ghanaian investor for advice.
Through their discussions, the victim realized that he had been dealing with fraudsters and reported the matter to the Osu Police.
With the help of the local bankers, the police finally apprehended Ndukwu when he visited the bank to withdraw money sent to him by the victim at Osu last Monday.
Ndukwu, upon interrogation, admitted the offence and confessed that he was not a secretary to Mr Debrah.
He added that he was acting on the instructions of his accomplice Robbert Amuzu.
The suspect has since been charged with impersonation and forgery.
By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey
(Lindatenyah@gmail.com)