Kwame Gyane Ababio, a self-employed man accused of defrauding by false pretenses, has been granted bail by an Accra Circuit Court, presided over by Her Honour Susana Eduful.
Ababio was granted bail in the amount of GH¢200,000 with two sureties, each required to be justified with property title ownership matching the bail sum.
The original title documents must remain with the court registry until the case concludes.
Ababio has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
A bench warrant has also been issued for the arrest of the second accused, Roland Ababio, who was not present in court.
The two men face charges under Ghana’s Criminal Code: conspiracy to defraud by false pretenses (Section 23(1) and 131(1) of Act 29/60) and defrauding by false pretenses (Section 131(1) of Act 29/60).
The case stems from an alleged scheme in which the two accused conspired to deceive Eric Kotey, a civil servant, into paying GH¢ 250,000 as part of land purchase in Teshie under false pretenses.
The court has adjourned proceedings to December 18, 2024, and directed the prosecution to disclose evidence and file witness statements.
Alleged Fraud Scheme
According to Chief Inspector Princess Tetteh Boafo, the prosecutor, the complainant, Eric Kotey, was approached by Kwame Gyane Ababio in November 2021.
Ababio informed Kotey that his “uncle,” identified as Ephraim Asante, owned a parcel of land in Teshie that was available for sale.
Ababio introduced Kotey to the second accused, Roland Ababio, who allegedly posed as Ephraim Asante, claiming he was about to travel to the United States and had authorized Kwame Ababio to sell the land on his behalf.
This led Kotey to negotiate a purchase price of GH¢ 450,000 for the land, and he subsequently transferred GH¢ 250,000 as a down payment to Ababio’s UBA bank account.
Later, Kotey visited the land and found that Kwame Ababio had started developing it for another family member.
When confronted, Ababio could not provide a satisfactory explanation, leading Kotey to report the matter to the police in May 2022.
Ababio admitted to receiving the GH¢ 250,000 from Kotey but did not possess the legal right to sell the land, as the actual owner, Ephraim Asante, had passed away in 2016.
Investigation Findings
Further investigation revealed that the late Ephraim Asante, who owned the land in question, was actually the brother of Roland Ababio.
Police discovered that Roland Ababio had impersonated his deceased brother to facilitate the land sale, and the land was partially registered to Daraja Properties at the Lands Commission since 2020.
The investigation also confirmed that Kwame Ababio refunded GH¢ 130,000 of the initial payment to the police, which was returned to Kotey.
Both accused were subsequently charged with defrauding by false pretenses.