Four Arrested Over SA Job Scam

Four persons according to the Daily Graphic have been arrested by the police for their alleged complicity in an employment scam by a South African company, Explore Abroad and Africa, which resulted in 383 Ghanaians losing huge sums of money.

The four, Messrs David Kumi and James Kwame Opoku, the agents, as well as Mr Talk King Essilfie, the Chief Labour Officer and Madam Jane Frimpong, the Employment Officer, both of the Labour Department, are currently on police enquiry bail.

Interpol Ghana has also been directed to contact its counterpart in South Africa to apprehend Ms Leslie Botha, the South African woman who led the recruitment exercise, to be tried in Ghana.

Each of the 383 applicants paid $1,000 and a non-refundable processing fee of ?500,000.

Out of every $1,000, the agents were given $200, in addition to the ?500,000 processing fee, to be pocketed.

The arrest of the four suspects followed their failure to facilitate the repatriation of the money from South Africa by Ms Botha for refund to the applicants.

Mr Patrick K. Ampewuah, the Deputy Director of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), who disclosed this in an interview, requested all the applicants to report to the CID Headquarters on Saturday, August 14, 2004, to have their statements taken for record purposes.

The decision to commence criminal investigations, he explained, followed complaints by Messrs Kumi and Opoku dissociating themselves from the scam.

He said lodging a complaint did not absolve one from offence, hence their being granted bail together with the other four.