The Central Regional Police Command has arrested Manager of Rich FM in Assin Fosu for alleged embezzlement and fraud.
Jonathan Amponsah Mensah has been accused of misapproriating cash of the radio station to a tune of GH¢104,090.
He has also been accused of forging invoice including payment receipts of respective cash amounts of GH¢ 21,000.00 and GH¢25,000.00.
The Central Regional Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Irene Oppong, told journalists that Dr. Richard Asiedu, Chief Executive Officer of Rich FM 98.7 MHZ, reported the matter to the police on July 14, 2021 around 2:30pm.
She said the complainant claimed that the manager of the radio station had dishonestly appropriated cash totaling GH¢104,090.
“He said the suspect with intent to defraud, also forged and presented to him some receipts including invoices of purported payments he made from 2019 up to date, to the National Communication Authority (NCA) – Takoradi Office, on commitment charges such as Annual Regulatory Link Spectrum and Authorisation fees.
“In the first quarter of 2021, the suspect presented series of invoices supposedly from the NCA on the aforementioned services and issued him cheques to pay off, but was suspicious of the trend of the charges that were being allocated to the radio station,” the police spokeswoman said.
DSP Oppong said on July 9, 2021, complainant personally went to the office with two of the invoices including payment receipts of respective cash amounts of GH¢21,000 and GH¢25,000 to ascertain the veracity of the payment.
“Upon scrutiny, officials at the NCA uncovered that both the invoices which capture the purported signatures of the Acting Director General of the Authority, Joe Anokye, and the two receipts with serial numbers: 00070 dated 02/01/2021, and 00441/2021 dated 10/03/2021, were forged documents and inconsistent with what were on record during the reviewed period,” the police added.
It turned out that because of the action of the suspect, the radio station he was managing had defaulted payment of its NCA charges since 2019.
The Central Regional PRO added that the radio station manager has been arrested and is in police custody assisting investigation, saying “two forged invoices and two forged payment receipts of NCA were retained as evidence.”
By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey