Bishop Vaglas Kanco Is Hot • Alleged to have duped British national of £120,000

Saturday, December 12, 2009 (Lead Story)

THE General Overseer of the Vineyard Chapel International, Bishop Vagalas Kanco, is in the grips of the law for allegedly defrauding a British national to the tune of £120,000.
He was alleged to have lured the complainant, Clova Sutherland, into believing that she would die if she did not allow him to pray over a £120,000 cheque she had issued in the name of her partner.
According to the prosecution, Bishop Kanco managed to convince the complainant to re-issue the cheque in his name in order for him to pray over it and return it to her on a later date.
Bishop Kanco pleaded not guilty to one count of defrauding by false pretence and was remanded by the an Accra circuit court, presided over by Mr D. E. K. Daketsey, to reappear on Monday, December 14, 2009.
Presenting the facts of the case, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mr P. K. Frimpong, told the court that the complainant met Bishop Kanco in London during a crusade organised by the Alive Chapel International Church on March 25, 2003.
The accused person was then a guest speaker at the crusade and during his meeting with the complainant she told him the problems she was going through.
She also informed him that she was to pay £120,000 to her partner, whom Bishop Kanco described as an evil person.
The accused person also made her to believe that she would die if she issued the cheque directly to her partner.
According to the prosecution, the complainant subsequently re-issued the cheque in the name of Bishop Kanco, who promised to pray over the cheque and return it between June 16 and July 25, 2003 when he was scheduled to attend another crusade in London.
He, however, failed to return to London for that crusade and also failed to return the cheque as promised.
The prosecution told the court that Bishop Kanco rather went ahead and cashed the cheque at the Makola Branch of the Barclays Bank.
It said the accused person stopped using the telephone number he had given to the complainant, thereby making it impossible for her to reach him.
The complainant arrived in Ghana on December 2, 2009 and reported the matter to the police, who effected Bishop Kanco’s arrest on December 9, 2009.
The prosecution said Bishop Kanco admitted receiving the cheque from the complainant but claimed it was a gift.
Investigations are ongoing.