Pastor Ready to Refund C40.8m to Fraud Victim

The founder and leader of the Blessing Chapel at Suame-anomangye in Kumasi has appeared before a Kumasi Circuit Tribunal for defrauding a businesswoman of an amount of ?40.8 million.

The pastor has pleaded with the tribunal to allow him to refund the money.

"I am prepared to pay the money I collected under dubious circumstances," he pleaded with the court.

Presenting the facts of the case, police Chief Inspector, Fabien Afesi, told the tribunal that Pastor Charles Anokye, 30, took the money from Madam Selina Darko under the pretext of sending her two daughters to the United States of America for further studies.

The prosecutor said Anokye convinced Madam Darko that he had already received an invitation to attend a religious conference and that traveling to the place with her two daughters would not be any problem.

Afesi said the accused then demanded ?40.8 million, being the cost of procuring documents and tickets for the two daughters whose names were given as Sarah Opoku and Yvonne Nyarko.

According to the prosecutor, after some months the complainant realized that the accused had no plans to travel to the US. She consequently reported the case to the police who investigated the claims of the accused and found them to be false.

The prosecutor noted that even though the accused pleaded not guilty, he gave every indication that he would refund the money.

Mr. Justice V. C. Senu granted the accused bail in the sum of ?50 million with two sureties.