Manager charged on 159 counts of stealing

March 17, 2012 (Front Page)

THE General Manager of Mama Adesi Company Limited, an import and export company has been charged with 159 counts of stealing GHC1.5 million from the company’s accounts at the Accra Main Branch of the Merchant Bank.
Konings Francis Gbanaglo, was the General Manager of the company which dragged the Merchant Bank to court for wrongfully withdrawing GHC37.3 million from its accounts.
The accused person, who has been in the employment of the company for the past 22 years allegedly took advantage of the illiteracy of the complainant, Mama Adesi, 85 and withdrew the moneys from her local and foreign currency accounts at the Accra Main Branch of the Merchant Bank between 2004 and 2010.
Gbanaglo was arraigned before the Circuit Court in Accra today but his plea was not taken.
He is currently on a GHC2 million police enquiry bail and is expected to reappear before the court on April 2, 2012.
His lawyer, Mr J. K. Agyemang had argued that the matter against his client be struck out because the complainant was currently battling the Merchant Bank in court over her missing money but the prosecutor reminded him that criminal matters took precedence over civil matters.
The facts of the case were that the complainant, Mama Adesi is the Managing Director and sole owner of Mama Adesi and Company Limited.
The company, which deals in Rice, Sugar and Nestle Products among others, employed the accused person as its General Manager in December 2010.
According to the prosecution, Mama Adesi reported to the police that, her bankers, Merchant Bank Ghana Ltd, (Accra Main Branch) had informed her that, her Company owed the bank GHC594,332.61.00 as at November 30, 2010.
She further complained that accused person had used the documents of her warehouse located at North industrial Area/ Kaneshie as collateral and obtained overdraft which continued to accrue interest which amounted to GHC682.558.07 as at April, 2011 from Merchant Bank Headquarters without her concent or consent of any other Director of the company.
She further reported that she found the indebtedness to the bank incredible and therefore, suspected, the accused person to be responsible because the accused person left the Company unceremoniously two days after she informed him that, her company would no longer transact business with Merchant Bank and that accused should contact the Bank for all deposits with them to be transferred to the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB). Based on her report, Gbanaglo was arrested to assist in investigations.
A search conducted in his house revealed 55 Mama Adesi Company’s Bank pay-in slips and other documents, which were all retrieved.
During the second quarter of 2007 to date, the complainant fell sick and was unable to go to work regularly and as a result the accused person allegedly took advantage of the complainant’s absence and devised means to outwit her.
Accused after ordering goods, would write three cheques ostensibly for Nestle Ghana Ltd. and one cheque for Patings Ventures, a company owned by the accused person.
He then made the complainant to endorse these cheques which she normally ignorantly thumb printed for him.
The prosecution said the accused person usually paid one of the cheques into his own company’s (Patings Ventures) account as well as used the same method to withdraw foreign currencies totaling GHC1,580,426.29.
Accoridng to the prosecution, the accused person has admitted some of the allegations and denied others in his caution statements.
During investigation, the police did not get access to Daily sales records, cash book, bank pay-in slips and Bank Debit Notes, files containing all correspondence with the Company’s Bank and Credit sales Records.
The complainant sought the services of Alex Thompson & Co, Chartered Accounts, who audited the accounts of the company and after investigation, he was charged with