Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Herbert Krapa’s name has been allegedly used to defraud job seekers to the tune of GH¢564, 000.00.
Mr Krapa’s name was deployed as vehicle for a criminal scheme by William Kwame Addo, 42, a businessman and one Kwasi, who is currently at large. A total of five people were allegedly defrauded, including a farmer, teacher and businessmen.
Kwame Addo had been arrested and was arraigned on charges including conspiracy to commit a crime, to wit, defrauding by false pretence.
The accused has pleaded not guilty to the charges and was remanded into police custody for two weeks. According to the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Isaac Anquandah, Kwame Addo, the accused, is a businessman and lives at Amasaman-Fise, in Accra.
He informed the court, presided over by Samuel Bright Acquah that in the year 2021, Kwame Addo posed as a Personal Assistant to the Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Herbert Krapa and informed the complainants that the deputy Minister could assist them to be enlisted into the security agencies and employment with other government institutions.
The accused also informed some of the complainants that the Deputy Minister could assist them to buy government auction vehicles and demanded various sums of monies from them to be given to the Minister for that purpose.
The complainants then paid various sums of money, totalling GH¢564,000.00 to the first accused, to be given to the Deputy Minister to secure employment, as stated above.
The accused also allegedly extorted GH¢20,000 from Thomas Adongo, one of the complainants, with the claim to use the money to lobby Mr Krapa for appointment as Municipal Chief Executive (MCE).
Another complainant, Seth Opoku, allegedly paid the accused GH¢78,000.00 with the hope that it would be used to lobby the Deputy Minister for the appointment of MCE, as well as recruitment of his relatives into the security agencies
Farouk Awudu paid GHC43,000.00 for MCE appointment and state security agencies recruitment for his relatives, whilst Moses Batidu paid lobbying fee of GH¢28,000.00 to the accused for a position in the Oti region and the recruitment of his relatives into the security agencies.
Yaw Ahenkora, also a complainant paid GH¢395,000.00 to the accused for appointment as District Chief Executive (DCE), the recruitment opportunities for his relatives into the security agencies and the offering of auction vehicles.
The court was told that none of the complainants seeking MDCE and regional coordinator jobs got the opportunity or had their relative recruited into the security agencies.
Similarly, the auction vehicles were not offered on sale to Yaw Ahenkora, which collectively, made the complainants furious to demand for their monies from the complainant.
Kwame Addo, after receiving the monies blocked calls from the complainants and went into hiding.
“A report was made to the Police and first accused was later arrested. He admitted having received the monies from the complainants, but said he gave all the monies collected from the complainants to the second accused person to be given to the Minister,” the prosecutor stated.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister was said to have denied receiving any money from the accused persons. Efforts are underway to get the second accused person arrested.
