A 34-year-old man was sentenced to eight years in prison by an Accra Circuit Court for fabricating a Bank of Ghana (BoG) license to operate a microfinance operation in Suhum, Eastern Region, and its environs.
After pleading guilty to the allegation of engaging in deposit-taking without a license, Kofi Asante, better known as Davis, was sentenced to four years in jail.
He pled guilty to the allegation of forging an official document once more, earning him an eight-year prison sentence.
The sentences must run consecutively, according to the court, which was presided over by Joojo Amoah Hagan.
Below are the facts of the case as reported by the Ghana News Agency (GNA):
The prosecution, led by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Emmanuel Haligah, said the Police picked intelligence that the accused person, now convict, had established microfinance business centres in the name of KM Community Bank and Prym Capital within Suhum and its environs.
It said the convict, after establishing the business, went ahead to collect deposits from people without licenses.
The prosecution said intelligence indicated that the KM Community Bank had branches in Anum Apapam, Akorabo, and Amanase, while Prym Capital had its headquarters in Suhum.
The prosecution said on June 30, 2023, Asante was arrested for investigations and when his offices were searched, copies of documents purported to be issued by the Bank of Ghana in the name of KM Community Bank were found and retrieved for investigations.
It said investigations revealed that Asante had forged the Bank of Ghana license between April and January 2023 and had about 24 youths working as representatives within Suhum and its environs.
It said during the period, Asante had successfully convinced about 950 persons, who made daily deposits of GHC56,000 with his business.
The prosecution said during interrogation, Asante admitted that KM Community Bank and PRYM Capital were neither registered by the Office of the Registrar of Companies nor licensed by the Bank of Ghana to undertake deposit-taking business.
It said Asante confessed that he forged the Bank of Ghana license retrieved from his office.
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