Odike’s property seized

Even before the controversy surrounding the big names behind the formation of his second political party, the United People’s Party (UPP) will settle, Mr. Akwasi Addai, founder, has landed himself in fresh trouble, after allegedly defrauding a Kumasi-based gold dealer.

A Commercial High Court in Kumasi had already ordered the seizure of properties belonging to the embattled founder of the UPP to defray a whopping four hundred and four thousand Ghana cedis (GHC404,000) debt, after he reportedly swindled the Kumasi-based gold dealer, Autel Solomon, over a house.

Mr. Addae, better known as Odike, who stood on the ticket of the United Front Party (UFP) in the 2012 general elections, sold a house at Patase, a suburb of Kumasi, to Mr. Solomon Autelat at the cost of two hundred and three thousand cedis (GHc203,000) sometime in 2011, which the complainant paid for, but never received the documents to the building.

In the pre-trial, it emerged that Odike had used the same Patase house as collateral for a loan he acquired from Ecobank. Autel told the court that he paid the money in installments and after completing payment, when he demanded the documents, Odike was tossing him here and there, until Ecobank revealed to him that the building had been used as collateral to their bank by the Kwabre native.

A few months ago, Justice Obeng Diawuo’s court ruled in favour of the gold dealer, ordering Odike to honour the debt before his properties are seized and sold to defray the 404,000 Ghana cedis debt, which includes accumulated interest, but the politician failed to do so. The Chronicle gathered that Odike owes the Pan African bank GHc180,000.

In the early hours of yesterday, the court ordered the closure of Odike Ventures,­­ onetime popular fashion shops, which are located along the Prempeh II street, Adum, also a suburb of Kumasi and a host of other properties belonging to the controversial politician. The Adum vibrant shop; which deals with ladies bags, jeans, shoes and others was opened for business before it was closed on the orders of the court, leaving customers disappointed.