26 February 2003
Accra — Two foreign investors who were duped 32,700 dollars by Ghanaian tricksters have expressed confidence in the security agencies for apprehending the would-be criminals.
The two, Mr. Subash Nair and Avinash Yadav of Ebiz Infotech based in the United States told newsmen at a press conference on Tuesday that they came to explore investment opportunities in the country and in the process fell into the hands of an Advance Fee Fraud (419) syndicate. They expressed their appreciation to the President Kufuor for ensuring that the security services were up to their task when they brought their predicament to his notice during the Peoples Assembly in January.
Mr Nair, leader of the delegation said they arrived in Ghana from the US on December 1, 2002 to transact business in gold and to explore the possibility of investing in other viable areas of the economy. He said prior to their arrival they had been contacted by one Mr Francis Asante on the Internet, who claimed he was in the gold business.
Subsequently, Mr Nair said, they met Mr Asante in New York for "final negotiations".
Mr Nair said on their arrival in the country, Asante introduced one Mr Jim Mortin to them as a business partner and Joseph Agbotoh as the shipper. They produced all the required documents and gold bars at Jim's office at East Legon after which a cheque for 32,700 dollars was issued to cover the cost of shipment and other expenses.
He said after some time they discovered that the goods were not shipped and also found that the documents issued to them, were forged. "We immediately reported the matter to the Police CID and our principals in the US and contacted the Ghana Embassy in Washington D.C where the embassy advised us to lodge the complaint with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), in Accra which quickly moved in to raid the office of Mr Jim Mortin in East Legon".
After this, the case was getting nowhere and out of frustration and the desire for quick response they appeared at the Peoples Assembly in January 2003 to attract the attention of the president on the matter. The president immediately promised to have the matter investigated.
An obviously elated Mr. Nair said, "To our amazement after 21 days of the Peoples Assembly, the matter was swiftly dealt with leading to the arrest of one the fraudsters and 20,000 dollars was retrieved from him.
They expressed their appreciation to President Kufuor for his strenuous effort and Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister of Information and Presidential Affairs for ensuring that the President's orders were executed.
They advised potential investors to contact the right authorities before carrying out their investment plans in Ghana to avoid being taken for a ride.
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