Businessman remanded in custody over recruitment scam

A 27-year-old businessman has been remanded into police custody by the Nkawie circuit court for defrauding two persons.

Isaac Osei was said to have succeeded in collecting huge sums of money from his victims under the pretext of facilitating the recruitment of their relatives into the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Immigration Service.

He pleaded not guilty and would reappear before the court presided by Nana Brew on February 02, 2022.

Police Detective Chief Inspector Anthony Acheampong told the court that the first complainant, Joseph Addo, was a junior high schoolmate and a friend of the accused person.

He said somewhere in July 2020, the accused visited Addo in a military uniform and told him that he was a soldier attached to the Third Battalion of Infantry at Sunyani and had links in the Army, the police service and the immigration service.

He said he could therefore help him or anyone who was interested in joining any of the services to be recruited.

According to the prosecution, Addo showed interest and paid an amount of GHc 7,000.00 to the accused person.
Chief Inspector Acheampong said Addo after paying the money introduced the second complainant, Baba John to the accused person.

The accused person collected an amount of GHc 36,000.00 to facilitate the recruitment of 10 relatives of the second complainant into the police service and the Ghana Immigration service.

The prosecution said the accused person after collecting the money failed to direct the victims to where and when to report to the various training centres and went into hiding.

A report was made to the Nkawie police and the accused person was arrested from his hideout in Accra.

He admitted the offence in his caution statement and was therefore charged and brought before the court.