The Asokwa Circuit court in Kumasi has convicted and sentenced a 32-year-old man to 35 years in prison for multiple offenses of defrauding by false pretenses.
Abdul Munaf Lawal was charged with defrauding after failing to honour his duties as a merchant to convert a huge amount of money of a foreign denomination into the local currency he had taken from his client.
On 27th July 2023, Lawal collected an amount of USD 50,000 from the complainant under the pretext of converting it to the Ghana Cedi equivalent.
However, after receiving the funds, he failed to fulfil his part of the agreement and subsequently absconded.
Following extensive investigations, he was arrested in Accra on 27th June 2025, in connection with a similar offence and was subsequently transferred to the Ashanti Regional Police Command for further investigations into the ongoing case.
Lawal was charged and arraigned before the Asokwa Circuit Court 1, presided over by His Honour Fred Obikyere, where he initially pleaded not guilty and was remanded into police custody pending trial.
On 3rd September 2025, the accused changed his plea to guilty.
During proceedings, the prosecution informed the court that Lawal had a prior conviction and had served a 24-month sentence for the offence of stealing.
The sentencing was consequently deferred to 10th September 2025.The Asokwa Circuit Court convicted Abdul Munaf Lawal and sentenced him to 35 years imprisonment with hard labour after hearing his case on the deferred date.
