A leading member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Western Region, Mr. Isaac Dekpey Zorblewu, has been arraigned before the Takoradi Circuit Court for allegedly defrauding an oil and gas service company to the tune of $180,000.

The company, Cudjoe Energy, is jointly owned by two Ghanaians living in Trinidad & Tobacco and the United States of America respectively.

The accused was arrested on July 21, 2014 by the Western Regional Police Command, kept in cells for two days, before being sent to court and remanded into custody on July 23, 2014 by the court, presided over by Mr. Charles Nimako.

When the case was called for hearing on Tuesday, the judge admitted the accused to bail in the sum of $200,000 with three sureties to be justified, after he pleaded not guilty to the charge of defrauding by false pretense.

Presenting the facts of the case, the Prosecutor, Chief Superintendent Sekyi, told the court that the complainant company, Cudjoe Energy, based in Trinidad and Tobago, came to operate an oil and gas service company in Takoradi.

In the course of the business, the management approached the accused, who promised to secure the company an 11 acreage plot of land. The prosecutor told the court that based on the promise made by the accused the management gave him a 12% share in the company.

Prosecutor Sekyi continued that the accused presented himself to the management of the company as an advisor to a Deputy Minister, and further advised the company to acquire premises and build residential buildings.

Based on this representation, the complainant company decided to give the accused $180,000 as the cost of the 11 acreage land on which the residential buildings would be built.

The Prosecutor further told the court that though the money was handed over to the accused in December 2013, he was yet to show the said land he promised to buy.

Mr. Kofi Nyamekye Arthur, counsel for the accused, on his part, told the court that the facts of the case, as presented by the Prosecutor, was skewed and manufactured in a bold attempt to taint the accused as having used criminal skills to acquire what he described as ‘ill gotten money’.

Counsel Kofi Nyamekye Arthur further told the court that the facts were not entirely accurate. According to him, the accused was a Director of the company, and the decision by the company to hand the aforementioned sum of money to him was taken by management.

He quoted Act 179 of the Companies Code, which spells out what to do when a Director is found to have mis-conducted himself.

Earlier, counsel for the accused pleaded that the bail conditions be reduced, but the judge answered that the amount involved was huge and merited the conditions he had set.