The Attorney-General has revealed details of an alleged multi-million-cedi fraud scheme and forgery involving Mr. Percival Kofi Akpaloo of the Liberal Party of Ghana, following investigations triggered by a suspicious transaction report filed by the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC).
According to the Attorney-General, the case began after the FIC flagged unusual transactions on an account held at First Bank Ghana in the name of Pomaah Universal (Gh.) Ltd and subsequently filed a suspicious transaction report.
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The report prompted the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to commence a full-scale investigation into the transactions and the circumstances surrounding them.
EOCO’s investigations established that the legitimate contractor awarded a COCOBOD feeder road contract was Pomaa Universal (Gh.) Ltd, a company wholly owned by Akua Pomaa.
The contract, valued at more than GH¢29.5 million, was awarded in December 2020. Work on the project commenced, and an initial payment from COCOBOD was duly and lawfully paid into the official bank account of Pomaa Universal (Gh.) Ltd.
However, investigators found that subsequent payments on the contract departed from the established process and raised red flags.
The Attorney-General stated that serious issues of misrepresentation, forgery and unauthorised handling of cheques emerged as payments continued.
The investigations uncovered that Mr. Akpaloo had secretly incorporated another company named Pomaah Universal (Gh.) Ltd, crafted to closely resemble the legitimate contractor, Pomaa Universal (Gh.) Ltd.
The only visible distinction between the two entities was the inclusion of the letter “h” in the name of the company linked to Mr. Akpaloo.
Between December 2022 and June 2024, Mr. Akpaloo allegedly collected eight cheques issued by COCOBOD in the name of Pomaa Universal (Gh.) Ltd.
These cheques, amounting to a total of GH¢3,169,432.22, were reportedly deposited into the bank account of Pomaah Universal (Gh.) Ltd at First Bank Ghana, a company investigators say was under his control.
EOCO’s findings further revealed that Akua Pomaa, the rightful owner of Pomaa Universal (Gh.) Ltd, was completely unaware of the existence of Pomaah Universal (Gh.) Ltd and the diversion of funds.
According to the Attorney-General, she only became aware of the issue in June 2024 when COCOBOD contacted her over outstanding balances on the feeder road contract.
Upon making her own inquiries, Akua Pomaa allegedly discovered that Mr. Akpaloo had collected and redirected the contract payments without her knowledge or consent.
She further alleged that her signature had been forged on the COCOBOD contract documents.
Investigators say the contract bore her former name, Mercy Owusu, which was allegedly used by Mr. Akpaloo to secure the agreement without her authorisation.
First Bank Ghana also conducted internal investigations into the matter, the Attorney-General disclosed.
The bank’s findings reportedly corroborated the fraud allegations, concluding that Mr. Akpaloo knowingly misrepresented ownership of the cheques and wrongfully deposited them into an account that did not belong to the named payee.
The bank, according to the Attorney-General, admitted to operational lapses in its processes, particularly failures to detect discrepancies between the cheque payee names and the destination account details.
The suspects named in the investigation include Percival Kofi Akpaloo, Pomaah Universal (Gh.) Ltd and Delvine Akpaloo, the spouse of Mr. Akpaloo.
The Attorney-General stated that evidence gathered so far points to the commission of several criminal offences, including stealing, forgery and money laundering.
The suspects are expected to be formally charged in January, as the state prepares to prosecute the matter based on the findings of the FIC, EOCO and the bank’s internal investigations.
