Manager of Gaso Filing Station in Wassa Gyapa, Western Region, Sylvester Koomson, has been remanded by the Tarkwa Circuit Court for allegedly embezzling and defrauding the company of over GH¢1.2 million.
Koomson, who is the cousin of the filing station owner, Collins Opoku, managed the station for over three years, during which he allegedly committed the crimes.
The accusations against Koomson include diverting company funds intended for supplier payments into his own pocket, resulting in a debt of over GH¢1.2 million for the company. Collins Opoku entrusted the management of the filing station to Koomson based on trust and family ties.
Upon returning from engagements and receiving tips from workers, Opoku conducted a financial audit, substantiated by supplier confirmations of the station’s indebtedness.
Collins Opoku revealed that the audit also uncovered fraudulent activities by his brother, Joseph Teye, who managed general merchandise for him.
Teye allegedly defrauded Opoku through over-invoicing, over-pricing, non-payments, and underpayments of merchandise, resulting in multimillion-Ghana cedi losses. Teye was accused of stealing construction materials meant for projects and smuggling them to Takoradi.
Both Sylvester Koomson and Joseph Teye were arrested and remanded on the same charge of defrauding the company of millions of cedis. They were arraigned before the Tarkwa Circuit Court, with ASP Oduro as the investigator and SUP Juliana Essel Dadzie as the prosecutor.
The court refused bail for the accused, remanding them to police custody until January 19, 2024, to allow for further investigation in collaboration with the Economic and Organized Crime Organization (EOCO). Presided over by Her Ladyship Hattia Abena Manu, the court rejected the plea for bail from the accused’s counsel.