2 IRS officials jailed for fraud

June 25, 2010 (Front Page)

TWO officials of the Large Taxpayer Unit of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) who demanded GH¢50,000 from the management of TV3 to reduce the company’s tax obligation from GH¢1.2 million to GH¢430,000 were yesterday sentenced to five years’ imprisonment each with hard labour.
Joseph Adjei and Joseph Teye Bilson, who are officials from the IRS and the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), respectively, were seconded to the Large Taxpayer Unit to conduct tax audit.
The Financial Division of the Fast Track High Court found them guilty on each count of conspiracy, corruption and attempting to cause financial loss to the state.
Their accomplice, Eric Duncan, a tax examiner from P.O. Andah and Associates, was also sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for attempting to cause financial loss to the state and attempting to influence a public officer.
The sentences of the three, who are in their early 50s, are to run concurrently.
The court, presided over by Mr Justice Bright Mensah, also ordered that GH¢8,000 which was retrieved from the convicts, being part payment of the GH¢50,000 they had demanded, should be returned to TV3 Network Limited.
The trial judge held that the prosecution had led ample evidence to prove the guilt of the convicts beyond reasonable doubt.
According to Mr Justice Mensah, it was untenable for Adjei and Bilson to state that they received GH¢4,000 each from Duncan as “handshake” from the TV3 management for performing their work creditably.
The court further held that it was most unreasonable for Adjei to state that he was unamused when Duncan gave him the GH¢4,000 but he decided to deposit it in his account to take future action against the complainant.
It said it was also “mind boggling” for Adjei to deem it necessary to inform a policeman who was on duty at the bank on the day he deposited the said amount into his personal account and not his superiors and the appropriate authorities.
The court said the prosecution led ample evidence to prove that Duncan took an additional GH¢20,000 from TV3 Network Limited to be given to Adjei and Bilson but he was arrested by the police on the premises of the company.
It stated that the prosecution led enough evidence to prove that the three had made calls to one another which resulted in Duncan leading the police to Zongo Junction where Adjei and Bilson were waiting for him to collect the GH¢20,000.
According to the court, the prosecution proved that Adjei and Bilson allowed themselves to be influenced, adding that Duncan’s voluntary confession statement clearly showed that he had been sent to influence Adjei and Bilson.
Touching on the charge of attempting to cause financial loss to the state, the court held that the state would have lost huge sums of money if TV3 Network Limited had not reported the conduct of the convicts to the police.
The court further added that the state benefited from an additional GH¢200,000 after another team had been dispatched to conduct further audit of the books of TV3 Network Limited.
It held that it was unfortunate for officers who had been mandated to collect money on behalf of the state to resort to such lowly acts which deprived the state of millions of cedis which could be used for development projects.
It also expressed disappointment at the failure of the lawyers of the convicts to file their addresses and also show up in court yesterday.
A friend of the court’s, Mr Kwaku Adjei-Lartey, prayed the court to show mercy towards the convicts who were first-time offenders and had also shown remorse.
The facts of the case were that Adjei and Bilson, in August 2005, were tasked to audit the tax accounts of TV3 Network Limited from 1997 to 2003, in the process of which they discovered that the company owed the state GH¢1.2 million.
The company challenged the figure and contacted P.O. Andah and Associates, who in turn tasked Duncan to offer the necessary assistance to TV3 Network Limited.
In the process, Adjei and Bilson demanded GH¢50,000 to reduce TV3’s tax obligation substantially, as a result of which Duncan was roped in to make the necessary payments to them.
The management of TV3 Network reported Adjei and Bilson’s conduct to its board, which advised the management to feign interest and report the convicts to the police.