The State has withdrawn charges against two alleged accomplices in the high-profile $8 million romance scam case involving Frederick Kumi, popularly known as Abu Trica, but is maintaining proceedings against the principal suspect as legal arguments intensify over the fate of the case.
At the Gbese District Court on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, the prosecution formally withdrew provisional extradition charges against Lord Eshun and Bernard Aidoo, the second and third accused persons.
The withdrawal followed what the State described as further investigations into the matter.
Leading the prosecution, State Attorney Mr Derrick Ackah Nyamekeh told the court that the Republic had “put its house in order” and was no longer pursuing the case against Eshun and Aidoo.
He explained that the two had initially been provisionally charged as accessories to Mr Kumi under Section 6 of the Extradition Act, 1960 (Act 22).
Mr Kumi, together with Eshun and Aidoo, was first arraigned on December 12, 2025, on provisional extradition charges linked to an alleged romance scam in the United States of America.
The three faced counts of conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to Mr Nyamekeh, Ghana’s extradition framework, guided by treaties with the United States and the United Kingdom, allows for the provisional arrest and arraignment of a fugitive before a district court while awaiting a formal diplomatic request.
He noted that Mr Kumi was the principal fugitive in the case and that it was ultimately the court’s responsibility to determine whether an accused person should be committed for trial outside Ghana.
Addressing objections raised by defence counsel, the State Attorney rejected calls for Mr Kumi’s immediate release, describing them as premature.
“If defence counsel’s objection is anything to go by, it is, at best, premature to call for his release,” he told the court.
Counsel for Mr Kumi and Mr Aidoo, Mr Oliver Barker-Vormawor, said he had no objection to the State’s decision to withdraw charges against Eshun and Aidoo.
However, he argued strongly that the withdrawal had fatal implications for the case against Mr Kumi.
Mr Barker-Vormawor contended that the charge sheet before the court accused Mr Kumi of conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, offences which, under Ghanaian law, require the involvement of more than one person.
With the alleged co-conspirators no longer facing charges, he said the prosecution could not legally sustain the case against a single accused person.
“The charge against the first accused person fails in its entirety by the withdrawal of the charges against the alleged conspirators. In the circumstances, Kumi should be discharged and released,” he argued.
Defence counsel further referred the court to the Extradition Act, 1960, and Article 3 of the 1931 Extradition Treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom, arguing that committal proceedings must be based on offences recognised under Ghanaian law and designated as extraditable. He maintained that such proceedings could not exist in a legal vacuum.
The relieving judge adjourned the case to February 7, 2026, for a ruling on the arguments raised by both sides. However, the court declined to discharge Eshun and Aidoo immediately, citing insufficient details on the record to do so.
All three accused persons were remanded into lawful custody pending the ruling.
Mr Kumi, Eshun and Aidoo are alleged to have played roles in an $8 million romance scam targeting victims in the United States, involving charges of conspiracy to defraud by false pretences and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
