Regina Abanga, a Secretary at the Energy Ministry, has been charged in the Accra Circuit Court for stealing GH287,775.47 from the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).
The former employee is accused of stealing money from the bank’s ATM on many occasions.
The 44-year-old woman is charged with 116 counts of stealing.
When she appeared before the judge, Kizita Naa Koowa Quarshie, she pleaded not guilty.
She has since been granted bail in the amount of Ghc250,000 with three sureties.
One of the sureties is asked to offer justification in the form of a GH125,000 landed property.
The court mandated that the accused report to the police every Wednesday.
The complainant, Irene Akua Antwi, is a Unit Head Officer of Business Operations at the ADB Head Office in Accra, according to the Prosecutors, while Regina Abanga has an account at the bank’s Ridge Branch.
According to the court documents, between November 2022 and June 2023, the accused allegedly exploited ADB ATMs in several Accra locations to make unauthorised withdrawals totalling GH287,775.47.
The accused’s alleged acts were discovered on June 15 when Solomon Inkoom, an employee at the bank’s Labone Branch, saw odd withdrawals and reported them to the complainant, who then notified the ADB’s risk team.
As a result of these findings, the bank took action by blocking the accused’s ATM card to prevent further unauthorized withdrawals.
On June 16, 2023, the accused attempted to withdraw funds from an ADB Ridge branch ATM, but the card was confiscated.
Regina then proceeded to the Banking hall to report the incident to the management, only to be apprehended by the Risk Team and subsequently handed over to the Ministry’s Police.
She is believed to have admitted to the crime.
She also acknowledged using some of the stolen monies to buy a Toyota Vitz with the licence plate GE-3545 -21 and to fund the continued construction of a three-story building, which has already reached the fifth level.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
