A 31-year-old Banker, Lawrence Avorsey, who is standing trial for allegedly stealing over GH¢164,000 from Access Bank Ghana Ltd., has pleaded not guilty and has been granted bail in the sum of GH¢150,000, with two sureties — one of whom must be justified.
The accused, who was first arraigned before the Accra Circuit Court on February 17, 2025 is said to have fraudulently siphoned the funds between May 2023 and November 2024, while serving as a staff member at the bank’s Spintex branch.
According to the prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Ofori-Appiah, Avorsey orchestrated the theft by manipulating transaction reversals, funnelling large sums into accounts held by alleged accomplices, Rita Kaledzi, Abigail Adjei Dzanie and Richard Mawuli Torsu — all of whom are currently at large.
Bail Conditions and Repayments
As part of his bail conditions, Avorsey is required to deposit his passport with the court registry and report to the case investigator every other Tuesday.
The accused has made partial payments toward the stolen amount:GH¢8,000 paid during the initial hearing period, GH¢5,000 handed over to the complainant during a court sitting in April and GH¢2,000 paid at the July 7 hearing.
The case has since been adjourned multiple times, first to June 30, then September 2 and is now set to continue on October 14, 2025.
The court, presided over by Her Honour BasiliaAdjei-Tawiah, maintained the original bail conditions in the most recent sitting and accepted an amended charge sheet from the prosecution, after which the accused reaffirmed his not guilty plea.
Details of the Alleged Fraud
According to Prosecution, the case was triggered after Access Bank detected discrepancies in its General Ledger (GL) reconciliations submitted by Avorsey in December 2024.
The bank launched an internal investigation during which Avorsey took medical leave and subsequently tendered his resignation, though it was never approved.
He stopped reporting to work, and the bank discovered the missing funds on December 18, 2024.
Investigations revealed that:GH¢75,631.55 was reversed into Rita Kaledzi’s account, GH¢16,636.45 into Abigail AdjeiDzanie’s account and GH¢72,184.14 into Richard MawuliTorsu’s account
None of the recipients had conducted legitimate transactions warranting such reversals. The accounts of Kaledzi and Torsu were reportedly opened by Avorsey himself, and all three individuals are believed to reside in the same area as him.
Bank CCTV footage also captured Avorsey withdrawing money using an ATM card linked to Dzanie’s account, further implicating him in the scheme.
The prosecution informed the court that ongoing efforts are being made to apprehend the three accomplices.
The police are working with investigators under the supervision of Detective Inspector Kwabena Akowua.
The complainant, Phyllis Kyei, a supervisor at the same bank branch, lodged the complaint after discovering the financial irregularities.
She and Avorsey were both colleagues at the time of the incident.
Charges
Avorsey is facing two counts:Count One: Stealing, contrary to Section 124(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), Count Two: Abetment of Crime (Stealing), contrary to Sections 20(1) & 124(1) of Act 29
The three at-large suspects — Kaledzi, Dzanie and Torsu — are also being charged with abetment of crime, having allegedly assisted Avorsey in executing the theft.
The case has been adjourned to October 14, 2025, to allow the prosecution to complete its disclosure filing and for further investigations to continue.
