Businessman in 170 million-cedi fraud

Kumasi, May 28, GNA - A Kumasi Circuit Court has remanded a 50-year-old businessman into prison custody for defrauding the Unique Trust Financial Services Ltd. in Kumasi and a housewife of a total of 170 million cedis.

Musa Salifu who pleaded not guilty, would re-appear on June 7. Police Chief Inspector Wilfred Salia told the court, presided over by Mr Richard M. Kugyapwah that, Salifu, on March 30 this year, went to the office of the Unique Trust Financial Service for a loan of 100 million cedis.

He said two Benz cars with registration numbers AS 3496 V and ER 34 V were used as a collateral security for the loan and handed the documents of the cars to the company.

Chief Inspector Salia said the accused who defaulted payment of the loan on the scheduled time, went on to falsify the documents of one of the cars which had served as collateral security and sold it to a housewife, whose name had been withheld, at a cost of 70 million cedis. The prosecutor said some weeks later, the car was impounded from its new owner as a stolen car. He said both Unique and the housewife made a report to the police who arrested Salifu and after investigations charged him with the offence.