A 41-year-old businessman, Michael Tetteh Page, has been granted bail in the sum of GH¢50,000.00 with three sureties, all to be justified, by the Dansoman Circuit Court, presided over by Her Honour Halimah El-Alawa Abdul-Baasit.
The accused, who has pleaded not guilty, is facing three charges including defrauding by false pretence and forgery of an official document. Chief Inspector Kwadwo Aboagye led the prosecution in court.
According to the charge sheet, Michael Tetteh Page allegedly defrauded Riffkin Aduko, a businessman and phone accessories dealer, of a total amount of GH¢59,000 under the pretext of securing him a Canadian visa.
The prosecution outlined that in January 2023, Aduko was introduced to the accused by a mutual acquaintance, known only as “Mr. Amo” or “Black Panther”.
Page is said to have represented himself as a visa agent capable of acquiring travel documents. He initially received GH¢25,000.00 from the complainant as a commitment fee, with a further demand of US$10,000 upon delivery of the visa.
When Page failed to deliver the promised visa, he allegedly demanded an additional GH¢44,000.00 in November 2024 to begin a new application process, which Riffkin Aduko paid.
After months of failed communication, Michael Tetteh Page forwarded what he claimed to be a completed Canadian visa via WhatsApp and demanded a further GH¢76,000.00.
Riffkin Aduko, however, insisted on verifying the authenticity of the visa before making any additional payments.
Investigations revealed that the visa document, with the number E775559571, was indeed forged. The Ghana Immigration Service confirmed the document was counterfeit and not valid for travel.
Police say Page admitted to collecting the money and has so far refunded GH¢10,000.
In court on Monday, the judge granted bail under Article 19(2)(c) of the 1992 Constitution after hearing submissions from the accused’s counsel.
The accused is required to deposit his Ghana Card with the court registry and report to the police every two weeks until further notice.
The case has been adjourned to September 1, 2025 for a Case Management Conference (CMC). Prosecutors have been ordered to file all disclosures and witness statements ahead of that date.
Michael Tetteh Page has been charged with two counts of defrauding by false pretence, contrary to Section 131(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), and one count of forgery of official documents under Section 158 of the same Act.
