An Accra Circuit Court has granted a GH₵50,000.00 bail with two sureties each, to two persons for allegedly defrauding a butcher of GH₵67,000. 00 under the pretext of securing him six slots for 2019 Hajj Pilgrimage.
The Court, presided over by Mrs Afia Owusua Appiah, ordered that the two sureties for each of the accused persons be justified.
They are to go back to the Court on January 27, 2022. Abdulai Haruna, account officer and Mohammed Abubakari, a businessman, have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and defrauding by false pretense.
Meanwhile, a bench warrant has been issued for the arrest of David Jawara, their accomplice, now at large.
Police Chief Inspector, William Kwabena Boateng, told the court that Abdulai Ibrahim alias Zinga was the complainant in the matter.
The complainant is a resident at Nima, with the accused persons living at Sapeiman.
The prosecution said in July, 2019, that the two accused approached the complainant through some witnesses in the case and alleged that they had five protocol slots for the 2019 Hajj Pilgrimage from Jawara, adding that each slot was at GH₵15,000.00.
It said they asked if the complainant could get some interested persons who were willing to travel on the pilgrimage. The prosecution said the complainant, who did not suspect any bad intent also contacted five people who were interested and they paid various sums of money ranging between GH₵ 13,000.00 and GH₵ 15,000.00 all to the tune of GH₵67,000.00 to the complainant.
According to the prosecution, the complainant then gave the said amount to Haruna to procure the Hajj Pilgrimage visas, but he failed to fulfill his part of the agreement.
The prosecution said the accused also alleged that he gave the money to Jawara to facilitate the travelling arrangement for the people to travel to Saudi Arabia, and on August 1, 2019, the complainant called the victims, some of whom travelled all the way from Kumasi to report at the Hajj Village in Accra to undergo departure formalities.
It said on arrival, they met the complainant who told them to wait for Haruna to bring their passports with visas.
The prosecution said based on the assurance, the victims waited until the last flight of the Pilgrimage departed to Saudi Arabia without them.
It said when the victims realised that they could not travel, they confronted the complainant who told them he had given the money to Haruna for the process.
The court heard that the complainant reported it to the Airport Police for investigation, which led to the arrest of the accused persons.
During interrogation, Haruna told the Police that he also gave the said amount to Jawara and pleaded with the Police to allow him some time to produce Haruna or refund the money to the victims, but he failed to produce Jawara.
The prosecution said Haruna had since refunded GH₵20,000.00 and after investigations, the two were arraigned. -GNA
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