Accra-Ghana, July 8, GNA – A 36-year-old Susu Operator accused of misappropriating GHC 995,338 belonging to his employers, has appeared before an Adentan Circuit Court.
Gabriel Tsianie Tetteh has been charged with two counts of forgery of documents, Stealing, and defrauding by false pretence.
Tetteh has denied the charges and the court presided over by Mrs Sedinam Awo Balokah has admitted him to bail in the sum of GHC 1.5 million with four sureties, two to be justified.
Susu is an informal money-pooling scheme practice in Africa, the Caribbean and some immigrant communities.
Prosecuting Chief Inspector Maxwell Lanyo told the court that the complainant, whose name was being withheld, is a businessman residing at Ogbojo, in Accra.
The prosecution said the complainant is also the owner and director of a multi-company, that is, Universal Susu, Universal Ice, Front Street Properties and Universal Rock Builders.
It said in March 2021, the complainant employed Tetteh as the marketing manager of his company, Front Street Properties, which deals in the land business.
The prosecution said Tetteh was tasked to advertise and issue receipts to customers who bought and paid for their land.
It said the accused person discharged his duties faithfully and was later elevated to the General Manager position of the Universal Rock Builders Company, one of the complainant’s companies that dealt with the building of houses for clients.
According to the prosecution, Tetteh also became the Public Relations Officer of the multi-company.
It said the complainant asked Tetteh to hand over all the receipts booklets in his possession to the new Marketing manager and manageress of Front Street Properties.
The prosecution said Tetteh handed over as directed but kept “two serial receipts booklets and also printed four un- serial receipt booklets bearing the Front Street properties names and issued them to prospective customers who had made payments to the accused person.”
It said Tetteh gave his personal account to some of the customers instead of the company account and they made various payments into it.
The prosecution said during August 2022, the accused person resigned from the company and handed over receipt booklets which he had kept and was still issuing to customers who had not finished paying for their land.
It said Tetteh continued to keep the money he had collected from those customers.
On December 31, 2022, the complainant requested all his staff to tender receipt books in their possession to him and asked them not to receive any money from customers until he did direct so.
It said when the complainant began going through the receipt books, he discovered that two receipt booklets did not have serial numbers like the others.
The prosecution said the complainant found out that the receipt booklets without serial numbers were issued by Tetteh.
It said indentures issued to some of the customers had been forged.
According to the prosecutor, the complainant caused Tetteh’s arrest, and two serial and un-serial receipt booklets were retrieved from him.
When an audit was conducted, it became known that Tetteh had embezzled GHC 995, 338.97.
The prosecution said when Tetteh was cautioned by the Police, he admitted the offence.
