… Council of State rep cleared; EOCO parallel probe collapsed

The Herald’s investigation into the multimillion-dollar gold transaction has uncovered a confidential dossier from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, revealing the arrests of three individuals in connection with an alleged fraud linked to the US$14.315 million deal.

The dossier reveals that detectives are investigating a complaint of defrauding by false pretences, contrary to Section 131 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), following a petition submitted by Rahman Sahsenas on behalf of TAVEST FZCO, a Turkish investment firm.

The dossier confirms that Appiah Yeboah and lawyer Papa Yaw Owusu Ankomah, both directors of JG Resources Limited, have been arrested, cautioned and granted bail pending further investigations. Caution statements have since been taken from the two suspects.

Also arrested was Frank Kofi Adjetey Wood, Chief Executive Officer of Frank City Mineral and Oil Company Limited.

Interestingly, the two directors had earlier petitioned the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), claiming they were victims of fraud perpetrated by Sesi-Edem Company Limited, a known gold aggregator.

The claim has since triggered a protracted legal dispute between EOCO and the company, which denied wrongdoing and countered that its documents and officers’ signatures were forged by JG Resources.

The CID dossier indicates that Gabriel Kwamigah Kwabla, Chief Executive Officer of Sesi-Edem Company Limited and the Volta Region representative on the Council of State, was invited by investigators and provided a statement together with contractual documents detailing transactions between his firm and JG Resources Limited.

Sahsenas, who resides in Oyarifa, Accra, is a client of Accra-based lawyer Tony Lithur of Lithur and Brew. The petition was referred to the CID’s Special Investigations Unit on 18 December 2025 for further inquiry and a report.

According to investigators, TAVEST FZCO entered into an agreement on May 25, 2025, with JG Resources Limited, represented by its director, Kwaku Appiah Yeboah, for the supply of 50 kilogrammes of gold bars.

The complainant alleged that a total of US$14.315 million was transferred from the United Arab Emirates into an Access Bank account (1006000005184) provided by JG Resources as full payment for the consignment.

However, gold valued at only US$7.515 million was delivered, leaving an outstanding balance of US$6.8 million in either undelivered gold or unpaid refund.

“All efforts made by the complainant to secure either the supply of the outstanding gold or a refund have proved unsuccessful,” the CID report stated.

During interrogation, Appiah Yeboah and Papa Yaw Owusu Ankomah reportedly told investigators that they sourced the gold from several firms, including Goldline Mining Limited, Frank City Mineral and Oil Company Limited, Demensah Company Limited and Sesi-Edem Company Limited, a GOLDBOD-registered self-financing gold aggregator.

This led to the arrest of Frank Kofi Adjetey Wood, CEO of Frank City Mineral and Oil Company Limited, who was cautioned and later released on bail as inquiries continue.

Preliminary findings show that JG Resources Limited was incorporated on April 7, 2025, just weeks before entering into the agreement with TAVEST FZCO.

Further investigations established that Appiah Yeboah subsequently entered into a contract with Sesi-Edem Company Limited on June 5, 2025, for the supply of the 50 kilogrammes of gold, with the agreement expected to run until June 2026.

The CID noted that available evidence indicates that Sesi-Edem Company Limited has so far supplied 32.8 kilogrammes of gold to JG Resources Limited under that contract, with deliveries reportedly made at the company’s premises.

“On 25th May, 2025, the complainant entered into a contractual agreement with JG Resources Limited… cash the sum of USD 14,315,000 was remitted… for the purchase of 50kgs of gold,” the dossier stated, adding that the gold was to be shipped onward to Unigold LLC in the United Arab Emirates.

“In view of the evidence available, nothing incriminating has been established against Sesi-Edem Company Limited in respect of the said contract,” the report noted.

The document, signed by Chief Superintendent of Police J Osei Acheampong, Director of Administration at the CID, on behalf of the Director-General, Commissioner of Police Lydia Yaako Donkor, said investigations remain ongoing.

The dossier does not indicate that any of the suspects have been formally charged with the offence of defrauding by false pretences. It also does not explain why a third director of JG Resources Limited, Ms Maame Akosua Asama Kuranchie, has not been arrested.