A 38-year-old businessman, Paul Tuopare Junior, has been arrested at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) for his alleged involvement in the stealing of US$386,790.00 belonging to the National Investment Bank (NIB).
He was arrested on July 13, 2023, by officers of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) while going through departure formalities, and handed over to the police.
Tuopars Jnr. was put before an Accra Circuit Court, presided over by His Honour Isaac Addo, yesterday, on a single charge of stealing. He pleaded not guilty and has been remanded into police custody.
Detective Chief Inspector Emmanuel Amoah, the prosecutor, told the court that on July 16, 2020, the management of NIB informed the police that they had been alerted by Mastercard International about unusual ATM traffic out of Ivory Coast on NIB issued portfolio during the late hours of July 12, 2020.
Acting on the alert, the bank discovered that 45 Mastercards were fraudulently acquired and used to fraudulently transact businesses to the tune of US$386,790.00.
He said police commenced investigations into the matter and arrested 13 suspects who were cautioned and released on police enquiry bail to assist with investigations.
According to him, Paul Tuopare Junior, who investigations established was the mastermind behind the whole transaction, went into hiding and efforts made to apprehend him proved futile.
As a result, the police secured a warrant of arrest from the Kaneshie District Court and the accused was put on the stop list of wanted individuals. The prosecutor stated that it was based on this order that the accused was arrested and put before the court.
The case was adjourned to August 8, 2023.
