A Nigerian national operating a cement block manufacturing business in Accra has been arraigned before court following a joint investigation by the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) and the Ghana Police Service into an alleged transnational fraud scheme involving compromised US-issued bank cards, according to a statement published on the CSA’s website.
The accused, identified as Aderinsola Oluwanifemi Adeleye and a resident of Oyarifa, is alleged to have used fraudulent Point of Sale (POS) transactions at fuel stations to extract cash proceeds linked to two Citi Bank debit cards issued in the United States.
The investigation, the CSA said, involved information-sharing with INTERPOL and the FBI, both of which had reportedly flagged the accused as a person of investigative interest.
How the case unfolded
The matter began on 25 June 2026, when the manager of the Haatso Shell Filling Station alerted police to a complaint originating from Ecobank Ghana PLC concerning suspicious POS activity on two US Citi Bank debit cards. Internal checks by Shell Ghana implicated two pump attendants, who — under police questioning — allegedly named the accused and an accomplice as having repeatedly used the cards via mobile devices to process fraudulent transactions at the station.
Later that evening, the accused allegedly returned to the same station, was recognised by the attendants, and was arrested on the spot. A search at the time of arrest reportedly recovered a Beretta pistol loaded with two rounds of 9mm ammunition and a Citi Bank VISA debit card. A follow-up search of his office at AA Global Homes Construction Limited in Katamanso allegedly turned up fifteen further rounds of 9mm ammunition and one spent shell casing.
A separately warranted search of his Oyarifa residence on 27 June recovered two mobile phones, now held for forensic analysis.
Accused’s account, per police statement
According to the CSA’s account of his cautioned statement, the accused admitted using the Citi Bank card at both the Haatso Shell and Osu Total filling stations. He reportedly claimed the card — carrying a balance of roughly US$10,000 — had been sent to him by a US-based individual identified only as Gail Oneara for personal use, and that he had drawn down approximately US$8,000 before his arrest. This account, it should be noted, is the accused’s own version as relayed in the statement; it has not been independently verified and forms part of the evidence to be tested in court.
Ecobank Ghana’s internal audit team reportedly confirmed the bank had received a fraud complaint from Citi Bank via VISA International over unauthorised activity on two customer cards, corroborating the initiating complaint.
Alleged assets and ongoing investigation
Investigators allege the scheme operated by having pump attendants process fictitious fuel purchases through POS terminals, with the accused receiving the transaction value in cash rather than fuel. The CSA statement further alleges — without providing supporting valuation or documentation — that proceeds were used to acquire a four-bedroom house, a cement block factory near Amrahia, a Nissan pickup, and other assets now under scrutiny as suspected proceeds of crime.
Police say the search for accomplices, described as “at large,” and forensic review of the seized devices are ongoing, with authorities citing possible further international links.
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