A 28-year-old driver, Samuel Issah Abdulai, was dramatically arrested at his wedding ceremony for allegedly orchestrating a GH¢352,000 visa scam.
Abdulai is accused of defrauding three women by promising to secure them travel visas to destinations including Malaysia, Albania, Georgia, and Mongolia. According to the prosecution, he took substantial sums of money from the victims under false pretenses.
Facing multiple charges, including Defrauding by False Pretence and Forgery of Documents, Abdulai has been arraigned before an Accra Circuit Court. The charges, brought under sections 131 and 158 of the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29), could carry severe penalties if he is convicted.
Presiding over the case, His Honour Samuel Bright Acquah granted Abdulai bail set at GH¢150,000 with three sureties, one of whom must be justified. As part of his bail conditions, he is required to report to the police once every week.
Investigations into the case are ongoing.
The Scam Unfolds
According to the prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Daniel Danku, the three complainants — Sarah Obenewaa and Matilda Ayaba, both traders, and Aisha Ahmed, a businesswoman — all reside in Accra. Between September and December 2024, Abdulai and his accomplice, known only as Antwi, allegedly advertised visa acquisition services online, claiming they could help secure work visas to Belarus, Andorra, Albania, and Malaysia.
At the time, Abdulai claimed to be in Belarus and convinced the women he could facilitate their travel. The victims paid substantial sums for his “services”: GH¢47,000 from Obenewaa for a Malaysia visa, GH¢55,000 from Ayaba for an Albania visa, and GH¢250,000 from Ahmed, who gathered funds from eleven other hopeful travelers for multiple visas to Mongolia, Georgia, Albania, and Malaysia.
After receiving the payments through his mobile money account — registered under his name and number 0554852067 — Abdulai vanished.
However, in December 2024, he resurfaced and sent what he claimed were electronic visas to the victims via WhatsApp. Suspicious of the authenticity of these documents, the women launched a search for him.
Wedding Day Arrest
In a twist worthy of a crime thriller, Abdulai was apprehended at his own wedding in Nkawie, Ashanti Region, by the victims and other alleged targets of his scheme. They handed him over to the Teshie Police.
Subsequent investigations at the Ghana Immigration Service’s Document Fraud Expertise Center (DFEC) confirmed the visas were fake.
Abdulai was charged and arraigned before the Accra Circuit Court, where the judge granted him bail under strict conditions pending further investigation.
The case adjourned to April 22, 2025, as authorities search for his accomplice, Antwi, who remains at large.
