A 34-year-old lawyer has been arraigned before an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly abetting two others to defraud a businessman in an excavator transaction.

Divine Effah-Dartey was alleged to have counselled and facilitated an excavator sale involving an amount of GH¢800,000.

He pleaded not guilty to abetment of crime, namely defrauding by false pretences, and was admitted to police enquiry bail.

The court granted the bail application after it was moved by his father, Captain (Rtd) Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey.

Also before the court were Mawuli Awadzi Amenyo, also known as Frank, a 49-year-old carpenter, and Jiang Tao, a warehouse manager.

Amenyo, jointly charged with Rishan Mahanta, who is said to be at large, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit crime, namely defrauding by false pretences, and defrauding by false pretences.

Mahanta was said to be facing an additional charge of forgery of documents.

JIang was charged with abetment of crime and was admitted to police enquiry bail, while Amenyo was granted bail in the sum of GH¢400,000 with two sureties, one to be justified.

The court, presided over by Evelyn Asamoah, adjourned the case to January 23, 2026.

Leading the prosecution, Detective Chief Inspector Abel Amanie told the court that the complainant was Kofi Boateng, a businessman resident at Asankragwa in the Western Region.

In September 2025, Richard Amankwah, a witness, informed Amenyo that Boateng intended to purchase an excavator for rental purposes.

Amenyo was said to have told Amankwah that his boss, Mahanta, based in Accra, dealt in the importation and sale of excavators.

The prosecution said Boateng was subsequently introduced to Amenyo and Mahanta, and on October 1, 2025, travelled to Accra with others, including Amankwah and one Oware Ebbah, to meet them.

Amenyo allegedly led them to the premises of Caitec Delta Limited, dealers in automobiles and heavy equipment, where Mahanta was met, and presented a fleet of excavators as belonging to Mahanta.

The prosecution said Jiang, despite being informed that the area was restricted to staff, released an ignition key to enable Boateng to test-drive an excavator.

“This action was just to convince the complainant that Mahanta is actually the owner of the excavators,” the prosecution said.

After the test drive, Boateng reportedly agreed to purchase a Sany hydraulic excavator with chassis number SY021CFP689S8 at a price of GH¢1.7 million, with an upfront payment of GH¢800,000.

The prosecution said Amenyo later led Boateng to the chambers of Nkrabeah and Associates at Kaneshie, where Effah-Dartey was introduced as Mahanta’s lawyer.

Effah-Dartey was said to have assured Boateng that payment could be made and that he would deposit the cash into Mahanta’s bank account.

Boateng, the prosecution said, withdrew GH¢800,000 from his bank and paid the amount to Effah-Dartey at the law firm.

Effah-Dartey was alleged to have issued a receipt and handed over a forged Import Declaration Form purportedly from the Ghana Revenue Authority, bearing the excavator’s chassis number.

The prosecution said Amenyo later abandoned Boateng at Odorkor under the pretext of contacting a low-bed truck driver and subsequently became unreachable.

Boateng later discovered that the excavator did not belong to Amenyo or Mahanta and returned to the law firm, where he was informed that the money had been collected on Mahanta’s behalf.

“All effort made by the complainant to locate Amenyo and Mahanta failed and a complaint was made to the Police,” the prosecution said.

Amenyo was arrested on October 7, 2025, at Sowutuom and, during interrogation, allegedly admitted the offence and claimed the money was with Effah-Dartey.

The prosecution said Effah-Dartey stated that he had handed the money to Mahanta, but investigations revealed that Mahanta was not a registered client of Nkrabeah and Associates.