The suspects
A Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Regina Abanga, has been dragged before an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly stealing GH¢287,775 from the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).
The accused, who has been charged with 116 counts of stealing, is said to have manipulated the bank’s automated teller machine (ATM), which enabled her to steal the money from the bank.
Court documents indicate that Ms. Abanga has purchased a Toyota Vito vehicle with the booty and is also using part to put up a three-storey building.
She pleaded not guilty to all the 166 charges of stealing levelled against her by the prosecution led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Evans Kesse.
She was granted a bail in the sum of GH¢250,000 with three sureties, one of whom must be justified with a landed property worth GH¢125,000.
The accused, as part of her bail condition, was ordered by the court presided over by Kizita Naa Quarshie to report to the police every Wednesday until further notice. The case was adjourned to September 25, 2023.
The prosecution’s fact presented by DSP Kesse named Irene Aka Antwi, Unit Head Officer, E-Business Operation of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) Head Office as the complainant in the matter.
The accused, Regina Abanga, is a Secretary with the Ministry of Energy and holds an account with the Ridge branch of ADB.
The Prosecutor said, between November 2022 and June 2023, the accused person manipulated some ADB ATMs across the Accra metropolis and succeeded in withdrawing a total of GH¢287,775.47 belonging to the bank.
The court heard that on June 15, 2023, a witness in the matter by name Solomon Inkoom, an employee of the bank at its Labone Branch, detected the unusual ATM withdrawals by accused.
The witness subsequently informed the complainant, who in turn reported the unusual withdrawals to the bank’s risk team.
Regina Abanga’s ATM card was subsequently blocked to prevent her from further withdrawals.
The Prosecutor said, on June 16, 2023 at about 5pm, the accused went to Ridge branch of ADB to withdraw money from the ATM, but the card was captured.
The court was told that the accused then went to the banking hall to report the incident to the bank’s management, but she was arrested instead by the bank’s risk team and handed over to the Ministries Police.
DSP Kesse said the accused admitted the offence during interrogation and indicated further that she used part of the stolen money to acquire a Toyota Vito with registration number GE-3545 -21 and also to finance a three-storey building which has reached a five-cause level.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak