Frank Asirifi Junior, Fleet Manager at Huawei Technologies Ghana S.A Limited has been arraigned for allegedly stealing 44 vehicles belonging to Leasafric Ghana PLC, a car rental company.
He has, therefore, been charged with 44 counts of stealing and was put before the Accra Circuit Court ‘11’ presided over by Patricia Amponsah on Monday, 19th September, 2022.
Asirifi has, however, pleaded not guilty to all 44 criminal counts.
Details of the case are that Mc Dennis Ackon (complainant) is an Audit, Risk and Compliance Manager for the Leasafric Ghana PLC and a resident of Kasoa, whilst Frank Asirifi Junior (accused) was the Fleet Manager for Huawei Technologies and resides at Tesano.
The court was told that on July 20, 2022 the complainant petitioned the Director General of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Police Service that the accused had sold 44 vehicles, which Leasafric Ghana PLC had rented out to Huawei Technologies Ghana S.A. Limited to unknown persons without their consent.
The brief facts further indicated that investigations conducted by the police confirmed the sales of the 44 vehicles that Huawei Technologies rented from Leasafric Ghana PLC between January and July this year.
It said the vehicles were Nissan Hardbody Pickups, 21, Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, four, Toyote Hilux Praups, five, Mitsubishi Pajero, two, Mitsubishi L200 Pick-ups, two, Hyundai Creta, three, Hyundai Elantra, one, Toyota Hiace, one, Nissan Almera, one, and Nissan Patrol, one, all value at GH¢5,774,519. 58.
The court was told that the person was instructed as the fleet manager of Huawei Technologies Ghana S.A. Limited to return the vehicles to Leasafric Ghana PLC.
Contrary to records or movements prepared by the accused to show that 37 of the vehicles had been returned to Leasafric Ghana PC, investigation reveals otherwise.
Thus, he was alleged to have fraudulently sold those vehicles to unsuspected customers without the consent of the rented company and his employers.As a result, the accused was, subsequently, arrested and he allegedly admitted selling the 44 vehicles in his caution statement.
It added that in the course of investigation, the Police retrieved four Toyota Land Cruiser Prado with the registration numbers – GT 8052-18, GN 210-16, GW 52-19, and GT 8051-18, one Mitsubishi Pajero with registration number GE 3808-15, three Toyota Hilux Pickup with registration numbers GW 7281-17, GT 976-17, GX 78-17, three Hyundai Creta with registration Nos. GX 4345-19, GC 2566-19, GC 2565-19, ten Nissan Hardbody Pickups with registration numbers GT 7329-19, GT 7344-19, GT 9941-18, GT 7347-19, GT 7351-19, GT 7349-19, GT 744-19, GN 607-17, GT 7350-19, GT 7346-19, one Toyota Hiace with registration number GT 7678-19, one Nissan Patrol with registration number GN 7563-16.
The others are one Nissan with the registration number GN-568115, and one Hyundai Elantra with the registration number GX4262-19 from their respective buyers in Accra, Cape Coast, Sunyani, Kumasi and Wa.
In the fact sheet, it was said the buyers mentioned the accused as the one who sold the vehicles to them and also took various sums of money from them.
The court was informed that these allegations were admitted by the accused in his investigation caution statement and even confessed that he made GH¢710, 000 00 out of the sale of some of the vehicles.
Accordingly, the accused admitted having invested the same amount in a fixed Deposit at Access Bank and Zenith Bank.
So far, the accused is alleged to have refunded GH¢ 80,000. 00 and 25 vehicles had been retrieved from him. This case also makes it the second time in less than a week that Asirifi had been arraigned in connection with vehicle deals.
In the first case published by The Chronicle last week Friday, Asirifi was accused of defrauding one Awudu Musah to part away with GH¢380,000.00 by falsely pretending that if the said amount was given to him, he could secure him auction vehicles.
