Two persons before tribunal for fraud

Two persons, who defrauded a South African of 35,000 US dollars on Tuesday appeared before a circuit tribunal in Accra.

Joseph Kpeto, alias Ndebele Epe Mayele, an artist and Eddie Bartels alias Osei Kwame, a businessman are also charged with five counts of conspiracy, defrauding by false pretences and deceiving a public officer.

They pleaded not guilty and were granted 20 million cedis bail each, with one surety to be justified.

Kpeto and Bartels had earlier appeared before the same tribunal chaired by Mr. Imoru Ziblim together with Johann Rall, an accountant and Paul Stephanus Alberts, a Photo Journalist on charges of conspiracy and defrauding by false pretences.

Prosecuting Police Inspector Emmanuel T. Boison said earlier in July the accused persons invited Alberts to Ghana.

Kpeto who claimed to be the son of Ex-General Mayele of the Mobuto regime in the Democratic Republic of Congo told Alberts that he had in his custody a trunk full of millions of US dollar notes in black bills being part of the late Mobuto's wealth.

He again told Mr. Albert that, the notes were in a strong room of a Security Company called Galaxy Security and Financial Trust located at Teshie Nungua and introduced Bartels as the administrative manager of the company.

Inspector Boison said Kpeto acquired himself a refugee travelling identification card in the name of Ndebele Epe Mayele of Zaire and swore a declaration in March this year as the biological son of General Mayele and Antionnette Mayele both of Zaire to support his nationality as a Congolese.

Bartels also acquired a complimentary card with the name Osei Kwame and made a false representation to Mr. Alberts that the demurrage charges for the alleged trunk containing the dollars in custody of the Security Company was to the tune of 60,000 dollars. Mr. Alberts could not raise the required amount so he paid 10, 030 dollars as deposit to the accused persons.

Inspector Boison said Mr. Alberts, after paying the deposit run out of funds and communicated to a friend in London to transfer an amount of 35,000 dollars for his release as he had been taken hostage in Ghana.

The prosecutor said the friend reported the matter to the Scotland Yard police who alerted the security agencies in Ghana and the accused persons were arrested on July 18 this year when they accompanied Mr. Alberts to Tema to collect the money.

An amount of 4,000 dollars was retrieved from Bartels during a search.