Three employees of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), who allegedly conspired with a vendor to manipulate a software of the company, resulting in power theft totalling GH¢1,203,249.26 of prepaid credits appeared before the High Court in Accra, charged with stealing and money laundering.

They are Ali Nansii Shaibu, a computer programmer at the ICT Department at the Head Office, Grace Gardiner, Chief Supervising Cashier of the ECG District Office, at Kasoa and Anthony D. K. Quaye a technician at the ECG District Office in Kasoa.

Others are Ibrahim Baba Adamu Technician at Ghana Electrometer Company, Muntari Adamu, Gariba Awudu Misbaw, Kwasi Appiah Donkor, Eric Yaw Kyei and Augustina Laniyan, who are all private vendors, who sold ECG pre-paid power credit to the public.

They all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In 2003, ECG entered into partnership (agreement) with various companies including Electrometer to distribute pre-paid power to customers across the country. Private dealers were tasked to engage in the sale of the credits as well.

The prosecution told the court that the first accused (Ali Nansii Shaibu) travelled to Hohoe in 2016 to resolve a pre-paid connectivity challenge for the 7th accused (Gariba Awudu Misbaw).

The court heard that the two agreed that the software would be manipulated to enable pre-paid credits to be sent to Gariba without the knowledge of the Hohoe District Office of the ECG. The 7th accused would then delete the transaction and share the proceeds among themselves.

The prosecution said Mr Shaibu entered into this deal with other accused resulting in the theft of GH¢1,203,249.26 worth of credits. Another set of transactions with other accused persons resulted in various amounts being stolen.

The court heard that investigations put the total value of stolen credits under the scheme at GH¢2,143,270.15.

The accused are said to have admitted to the offence and refunded an amount of GH¢282,600.

The case has been adjourned to April 27.