Kumasi — MR. ALEX Ahinkora Amoah, an Audit Officer of Ghana Post in the Ashanti Region has testified to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly Court that he detected the fraudulent activities of Mr. Adjei Manu, an Account officer of the company, who is currently in police custody.

Appearing before the court, presided over by His Honour Adjei-Frimpong last Monday, as a witness in the case, he explained that as an audit officer, he used to carry out audit exercises occasionally, to verify whether proceedings in the company was on course.

In view of that, he was instructed by the Ashanti Regional Internal Auditor of the Ghana Post, Mr. Peter Annan on April 7 2008, to carry out an exercise which was to audit the operations of the Western Union Money Transfer in the Ashanti Region, which is under the Ghana Post.

He continued that he obliged to the instruction and started his work from the Kumasi main Western Union Money Transfer Office. He said, when he was going through the records, he came across a memorandum from the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) which should have had an official stamp and signature of the head of the ADB, but to his amazement there was no official stamp nor signature of the head.

Mr. Amoah mentioned that he noted it down as part of the report he was to summit to his boss. He again stated that on the memo, an amount of GH¢13,000 was quoted, but on the other corresponding memos an amount of GH¢20,000 was quoted, so he did not comprehend why all amounts quoted were GH¢ 20,000 except one which made him suspicious.

According to him, after going through the reports he went back to his office for the counterfoil cheque, where he realized that the said amount was GH¢20,000 and not GH¢13,000 - meaning the amount was short by GH¢7, 000.

He said he immediately drew the attention of Mr. Adjei Manu, who was in charge of withdrawing monies from ADB for distribution to the Western Union Money Transfer, in the presence of his other colleagues and asked him (Adjei) to go back to the ADB for the memo which bore the amount of GH¢20,000.

Mr. Amoah continued that some minutes later, he was called by some of his colleagues who worked with the accused person, whose names he gave as Vida Quansah, Alberta Sackey and Kwadwo Manu, who told him that Mr. Adjei had confessed to the them that indeed he withdrew GH¢20,000 but deposited GH¢13, 000 to the Post Master, while he prepared another memo which had an amount of GH¢20,000.

He told the court that he informed the internal auditor and then proceeded to the Santasi Post Office to carry out the same exercise where the accused person was to send an amount of GH¢10,000 but he (the accused) refused to do so and he (Amoah) subsequently informed his boss.

He then proceeded to the Offinso Post Office and after cross-checking documents over there it was realized that two remittances of GH¢3,000 each were not sent to Offinso, even though it was cashed by the accused from ADB, which he again informed his superior.

Earlier on, Mr. Justice Ature Oscar, the Ashanti Regional Security Co-ordinator of Ghana Post confirmed to the court that on April 17, this year, he was invited by the Regional Head, Mr. J. S. Yamoah to his office where he handed over Mr. Adjei who was possessing GH¢7,000 to him (Oscar) and escorted him to the police where he lodged a formal complaint.

Mr. Manu, the accused, who was asked on the first hearing by His Honour Adjei-Frimpong to engage the services of a lawyer, surprisingly came to the court without a lawyer.

Even though he had pleaded not guilty in the first hearing, when he was asked by the judge whether he had any questions to put to the witnesses, his answer was 'No', and the case was adjourned to Wednesday November 18 2009.