Ernest Sarfo, a former Accounts Officer at SIC Life Savings and Loans Company Ltd., is likely to face a civil lawsuit by the state after failing to comply with a Circuit Court order to refund GH¢738,000.00 he stole from his former employer.
The court, presided over by Her Honour Susana Eduful, had issued a restitution order for the convict to refund GH¢953,096.05 identified as proceeds of crime directly linked to him.
Sarfo has since refunded only GH¢214,221.00 out of the GH¢953,096.05 leaving a balance of GH¢738,000.00 even though the deadline for the payment had expired on March 31, 2023.
Background of the Case
Ernest Sarfo’s criminal activities, uncovered in 2019, following an internal complaint by the company’s Managing Director, Ama Frimpomaa Dwumah, Esq, revealed a deep-rooted scheme involving forged documents, fake accounts and collusion with accomplices.
Between 2016 and 2018, Sarfo orchestrated the theft of almost GH¢1 million from the company. He worked with three others: OwusuBaffour, his elder brother and a commercial driver; Paul Mustapha Nyaba, former Makola Branch Manager of SIC; James Buabeng, a friend and customer of SIC.
Modus Operandi
Sarfo stole cheque leaflets from the company’s banks – UMB, Zenith Bank and First Atlantic Bank and forged the signatures of authorised signatories to issue payments to fraudulent accounts.
His brother, Baffour, opened multiple bank accounts using forged National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) ID cards under fake names, including Isaac Fiifi Bentil, Linus Kumi and Basin Dennis Dery.
The stolen cheques, some with face value as high as GH¢476,200.00 were deposited into these fraudulent accounts. The money was withdrawn and shared among the conspirators.
Sarfo also used the stolen funds to acquire significant assets including a 4-bedroom house at Kuntunse,5 uncompleted shops at Katapor, near Pokuase, and three vehicles – Toyota Corolla (GG-246-19), Toyota RAV4 (GC-65-18) and a Hyundai Van (GG-4430-18).
Conviction and Sentencing
In 2023, Sarfo pleaded guilty to five counts of conspiracy to steal, stealing (x2), money laundering and conspiracy involving fraudulent transactions.
The court convicted him on his own plea and sentenced to 400 penalty units (GH¢4,800) each count, in default, six months imprisonment per count, to run concurrently.
More importantly, the court issued a Restitution Order for Sarfo to repay GH¢953,096.05 by March 31, 2023.
His co-conspirators, Paul Nyaba and James Buabeng, who received GH¢50,000 and GH¢13,329 respectively, have since refunded their shares to the police. Owusu Baffour, who aided Sarfo in laundering funds through fake identities and forged documents was also charged with multiple counts of uttering forged documents.
They were each fined GH¢24,000 in the year 2021 and 2022, after pleading guilty to the offences.
Civil Suit Imminent
According to legal sources, Sarfo’s failure to honour the court’s restitution order would trigger processes for the state to initiate civil proceedings aimed at recovering the outstanding amount.
The civil suit, if filed, would seek to enforce the restitution order and possibly recover assets believed to have been acquired with the stolen funds.
The state is expected to rely on provisions under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (Act 749) and the Criminal Offences Act (Act 29), which empower courts to issue recovery and restitution orders in financial crime cases.
