A secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Regina Abanga, is appearing before an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly stealing GH¢287,775 from the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).
The accused, who has been charged with 116 counts of stealing, is said to have manipulated the bank’s automated teller machine (ATM), which enabled her to steal the money from the bank.
Unit head officer, E-Business Operation of ADB, Irene Aka Antwi, is said to have filed the complaint after realizing the alleged theft.
The prosecution led by DSP Kesse said the accused Regina Abanga, is a Secretary with the Ministry of Energy and holds an account with the Ridge branch of ADB.
According to DSP Kesse, between November 2022 and June 2023, the accused person manipulated some ADB ATMs across the Accra metropolis and succeeded in withdrawing a total of GH¢287,775.47 belonging to the bank.
The court heard that on June 15, 2023, a witness in the matter by name Solomon Inkoom, an employee of the bank at its Labone Branch, detected the unusual ATM withdrawals by Regina Abanga.
The witness subsequently informed the complainant, who in turn reported the unusual withdrawals to the bank’s risk team.
Regina Abanga’s ATM card was subsequently blocked to prevent her from further withdrawals.
The Prosecutor said, on June 16, 2023 at about 5pm, the accused went to the Ridge branch of ADB to withdraw money from the ATM, but the card was captured.
The court was told that the accused then went to the banking hall to report the incident to the bank’s management, but she was arrested instead by the bank’s risk team and handed over to the Ministries Police.
DSP Kesse said the accused admitted the offence during interrogation and indicated further that she used part of the stolen money to acquire a Toyota Vito with registration number GE-3545 -21 and also to finance a three-storey building which has reached a five-cause level.
Meanwhile in court, madam Regina Abanga pleaded not guilty to all the charges of stealing leveled against her.
She was however granted a bail in the sum of GH¢250,000 with three sureties, one of whom must be justified with a landed property worth GH¢125,000.
As part of her bail condition, the court presided over by Kizita Naa Quarshie ordered her to report to the police every Wednesday until further notice.
The case has been adjourned to September 25, 2023.
