Case involving former GREDA boss moves to High Court
The Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, has ordered the transfer of the criminal case involving the former boss of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA), Alexander Kofi Tweneboah, from the Adjabeng Magistrate Court to the Financial Division of the High Court.
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As a result, the case, which was billed to be heard at the Adjabeng Magistrate Court last Tuesday, was not heard, to the surprise of the lead counsel for the accused person.
Mr Fiifi Abban, the counsel, had first appeared before the court without his client, but the court never called the case.
Docket on case
After a while, Mr Abban stood up and requested the court to call his client’s case, but the court informed him that the docket on that case was not available.
The court, presided over by Ms Mariam Affoh, therefore, advised him to find out about the docket from the court registrar.
Before Mr Abban could proceed to the registrar’s office, Tweneboah, the accused person, appeared in court.
The lead counsel, together with the accused, went to the office of the registrar, where the registrar informed them that the Chief Justice had ordered the transfer a week ago.
They proceeded to the Financial Division of the High Court, where the case was not heard.
Tweneboah was arrested, together with five others, for operating illegal SIM box business.
Bail
On February 10, 2015, the Adjabeng Magistrate Court granted him a GHc50,000 bail, with two sureties, one to be justified.
The court also asked the accused person to report himself to the police twice a week.
Tweneboah has been charged with two counts of procuring electronic equipment without licence and possessing illegal devices with the intent to commit crime.
He has, however, pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Background
The facts are that an operation to clamp down on illegal SIM box operators led to the arrest of six persons, including Tweneboah.
The activities of Tweneboah and the other alleged SIM box fraudsters are said to have cost the nation $33,592,320 or GHc107,495,000 in revenue between five and seven months.
The operation also led to the seizure of thousands of SIM cards from the suspects.
The other suspects are Ebenezer Boateng, Victor Owusu, Kwadwo Asare, Alvin Habib and Francis Abbey.
They have been arraigned on two counts of illegal termination and operation of telecommunications without authority under the Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772).
