Trader who abused trust by committing fraud is in court

A foreign exchange trader who allegedly fraudulently obtained various sums of money belonging to three traders appeared before the Accra District Court.

Mahamud Adams Sidik allegedly collected $14,000 and 800,000 Naira.

He is said to have asked the traders to pay the above sums to a friend’s account to prevent an attack by armed robbers who would buy items in Nigeria and offer them for sale in Ghana.

After collecting the money, Sidik went into hiding.

Sidik, who was accused of three counts of breach of trust through fraud, did not admit his guilt.

The court granted Sidik bail in the amount of GH¢300,000 along with two sureties.

The hearing was postponed to 25 November 2024.

The prosecution, led by Inspector Mina Kwafo, told the Court that the complainants Wango Abdul Karim, Twaficatu Alhassan and Rakia Urman were businesswomen and men residing in Accra New Town and Sapeiman respectively.

Prosecutors said Sidik also resided in Accra New Town.

Sidik collected cash amounts of US$1,000, US$13,000 and 800,000 Naira from the three complainants in 2022, 2023 and 2024 respectively.

According to the prosecution, Sidik told the complainants that he sent the money from his friend’s bank account in Abidjan and Nigeria to prevent any armed robbery attack and that they would withdraw the money when they reached their destination.

The prosecutor’s office said the complainants went to Abidjan and Nigeria to buy and sell goods in Ghana.

The court heard that, relying on false pretenses, Sıdık managed to obtain money from the complainants but did not fulfill his promise and all efforts to recover the money were unsuccessful.

The prosecution said Sidik was nabbed in Ashiaman and admitted the crime in the presence of an independent witness in his cautionary statement.