A National Service Personnel attached to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has been arraigned before the Accra Circuit Court for allegedly stealing GH¢308,300 through unauthorised Mobile Money transactions.
The accused, Ebenezer Ghartey, pleaded not guilty to a charge of stealing.
Inspector Frank Morgan Dorvi, prosecuting, told the court, presided over by Mrs Emmanuella Sarah Asmah, that Ghartey allegedly transferred the money from the MTN merchant account of a DVLA Administrative Officer to his personal Mobile Money account without authorisation.
The court granted him bail in the sum of GH¢100,000 with three sureties, all of whom must reside within the court’s jurisdiction.
One surety is required to justify the bail with landed property within the jurisdiction valued at not less than the bail sum, while another must be a public servant earning at least GH¢5,000 per month.
The court further ordered Ghartey to report to the case investigator every Monday and Friday until further notice and adjourned the case to August 4, 2026.
According to the prosecution, the complainant is a DVLA Administrative Officer under whose supervision Ghartey was serving as a National Service Personnel.
The prosecution said the complainant discovered an unauthorised withdrawal of GH¢3,000 from her MTN merchant account on May 22, 2026, after checking her account balance.
It said transaction records obtained from MTN allegedly identified Ghartey as the recipient of the transferred funds.
Further examination of transactions between March 31 and May 20, 2026, allegedly revealed that a total of GH¢308,300 had been transferred from the complainant’s merchant account to Ghartey’s Mobile Money account.
The matter was subsequently reported to the Cantonments Police, leading to Ghartey’s arrest.
The prosecution told the court that during investigations, Ghartey allegedly stated that he was not receiving a salary and had used part of the money to pay his rent.
It further alleged that he used the funds to purchase a Hyundai Elantra saloon car, a 50-inch Samsung television set, a set of furniture, an air conditioner, a floor carpet, a dining table and chairs, a washing machine, and a television rack and frame.
According to the prosecution, Ghartey also used part of the money to pay his sibling’s school fees.
The prosecution further told the court that, in his caution statement, Ghartey admitted to committing the offence.