Police storms the home of an investor and make away with personal documents

…including children’s birth certificates.

Ghana’s quest for foreign investment could be endangered and derailed if Ghanaians do not change their attitude towards people who are willing to venture into investment and entrepreneurship in the country.

Information filtering into the offices of ghananewsonline.com.gh is that three police officers – Frank Kwarteng, Charles and Dela, from the Interpol Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service (GPS) have taken the law into their own hands and without search warrant stormed the house of a female American investor and philanthropist (name withheld for obvious reasons) at East Legon on January 23, 2021 and made away with her personal documents including her children’s birth certificates.

This was after the police had detained her overnight at the Cantonments Police Station over investigations into her alleged involvement in defrauding by false pretense and money laundering.

We have gathered that the complaint was lodged against her by one, Michael Benziecie, a Ghanaian, to the Police. And in the course of their investigations, they chose to go that way. Meanwhile, the investor has denied any money transpired and neither has she received any from Benziecie, BAM PETROLEUM GH. LTD.

Nevertheless, our information regarding the police action has been corroborated by a letter from the investor’s lawyers, Nsiah Akuetteh & Co, which we stumbled upon.

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The last – but – three paragraphs of the letter states categorically that

“There was no search warrant while Frank Kwarteng, Charles and Dela had decided to take you to your residence and went through every single drawer, took all phones, sim cards, laptops, contacts, hundreds of pages of documents, all bank accounts, cheque books with all online passwords, pin documents, flash drives, etc. Your children’s birth certificates, identifications were taken away. Also, police certificates from Ghana, USA, etc. were taken away”.

This very letter written on February 1, 2021 with the headline “Case being investigated by the INTERPOL Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service” has in its opening paragraph;

“I write as your lawyer in the above matter to update and give you a general appreciation of the case to ease any fears and apprehension you may be undergoing, considering the HARSH TREATMENT you were given by the Police Officers on the case”.

These officers, the lawyer named as Frank Kwarteng and Nesta Macauley. According to the investor and philanthropist, she has been at the receiving end of Ghanaians since 2011 when she came to Ghana to give her side of helping hand to Ghana. However, for her love for the country, even if she decides to go back, she is held back by a divine voice to stay in Ghana to do her philanthropic work to Ghanaians. The victim went through a year of self-isolations due to COVID-19 while recovering from stomach ulcer.

According to her, on that infamous day of the police search, her security officer was warned by the Police not to misconduct himself towards them, while her driver and personal assistants were prevented from following them in the course of the search.

According to her, the Police ransacked her bags, took certain contents of their choice including small and big envelopes while she was alone with them in the room. This was because none of her household members was allowed to be with her during the police swoop on her.

She stated that after that infamous search, the police demanded many unthinkable things from her. These included keys to her offices, houses, cars, her personal property among others. Thereafter, she was driven back to INTERPOL with the intent of sending her back to the Cantonments Police Station to be locked up again, but a good Samaritan came her way to bail her out.

But even then, much was demanded from him as surety to effect her bail. And from that day, January 23, 2021, she has been tasked by the police to report to them on every Monday till the final outcome of the case.

This, she said she has been doing religiously from January 26, through February 1, 8, 15, and on. She indicated that she was not given the option of talking to her Attorney, because she did not have any access to her seized phones.

Rather, she was dictated to in writing her own statement which had already been charged with “Money laundering” boldly headlined on the statement sheet before it was handed over to her. She intimated that when she demanded to talk to her Attorney by scrolling through her seized phone. Kwarteng queried; “So can’t you remember the phone number of your lawyer off hand?” subsequently without that alternative, she had to write her statement on the already charged statement sheet, while the police dictated to her as she wrote.

By S. O. Ankamah