A 69-year-old German widow, Ms Waltraud Wiesent, has appealed to the Special Prosecutor, Mr Kissi Agyebeng, to investigate and confiscate properties belonging to two Nigerians convicted of defrauding her of €248,000 in a bogus gold deal.
Ms Wiesent said the Accra Circuit Court in 2015 convicted Mark Latif Adijum and Benjamin Taofeek Oluwashola and ordered them to refund the money they fraudulently obtained from her under the pretext of supplying her with gold.
Making the appeal through The Ghanaian Times, Ms Wiesent said the convicts had investments and properties in Ghana and expressed the hope that the Office of the Special Prosecutor could help trace and confiscate the assets to facilitate recovery of her money.
She said her bankers had sold her houses to settle loans she contracted and sent to the Nigerians, whom she believed were genuine gold dealers in Ghana.
Adijum was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment by the Accra Circuit Court, presided over by Mrs Afi Kudamor, now a High Court judge.
The two were charged with conspiracy to commit crime and defrauding by false pretence. While Adijum was sentenced to eight years, Oluwashola was convicted and fined GH₵40,000.
Adijum subsequently appealed his conviction at the High Court but lost.
During the trial, which suffered several adjournments, Adijum denied the charges, claiming he was a farmer who had never attended school.
The prosecution said Adijum met Ms Wiesent, a German technical engineer, and introduced himself as Chris Walters of Nottingham, claiming to conduct business in Ghana.
According to the prosecution, Adijum told Ms Wiesent that he had quantities of gold for sale and persuaded her to send money to finance the purchase.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Augustine Yirenkyi, who prosecuted the case, told the court that Ms Wiesent transferred the money through MoneyGram and various bank accounts at Ecobank and Guaranty Trust Bank.
The court heard that Adijum invited Ms Wiesent to Ghana on two occasions. During her third visit, however, she reported the Nigerians to the police, leading to their arrest and prosecution.
Ms Wiesent said despite the court order, she had not recovered the money and was, therefore, seeking the intervention of the Special Prosecutor to trace and recover the assets of the convicts.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
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