How Ghanaian businessmen squander opportunities out of sheer greed, and how, through sneaky business activities, such characters sometimes dribble even the State on VAT returns for profit, is reflected in an unfolding case in which the majority shareholder, a British national, Roger Gillman, has been chased out of town.
Forlorn and shattered over the case in which he has become the suspect, rather than the hero, Roger Gillman, threatened with the possibility that he might face a 20-year sentence for “unlawful entry” into the premises of Gillman & Abbey in Accra, had to flee Ghana, with the possibility that he might lose his investments to the Ghanaian partner, Emmanuel Abbey.
Roger Gillman has 80% shares in the company. The other 20% is split 10% apiece between a certain Stewart Payne, UK and Emmanuel Abbey, Ghana.
The New Crusading GUIDE sources at the Odorkor Police, corroborated by sources at Gillman & Abbey Funeral Services, Odorkor, Accra, have established that, following a delay on the part of the funeral home to settle its GH¢255,000.00 VAT indebtedness to the government of Ghana for November 2014 to July 2015, Gillman got wind of the VAT default saga, and hurriedly flew down to Ghana around November 6, this year, to query his partner and ensure payment of the amount.
The Odorkor funeral home sources revealed that, on landing at the KIA, he rushed down to the offices, asking the MD by phone to call a management meeting to resolve the matter. Strangely, Mr. Abbey refused to show up, leaving the company’s conference room under bolt. Roger, fuming, decided to enter the administrative office, so he might have access to the conference room to wait for Abbey for the meeting.
Somehow, Abbey got to know about his entry and, presto, was inside the premises with policemen, citing his UK partner for unlawful entry and having stolen a cash sum of GH¢265,000.00 – close to the GH¢255, 000 VAT arrears he had negligently refused to pay to government coffers.
Funeral workers had told The New Crusading GUIDE that the delay in payment was occasioned by the decision of the MD to jig the cash around to buy caskets from China to push up profits and pay the VAT later, out of the windfall.
According to our police sources, Abbey had stated that the money Roger had stolen belonged to an unnamed son of the Chief Justice.
Abbey’s wife, Sally Abbey, is a staff of the VAT Office in Accra. VAT officials, workers insist, had been frequenting the funeral home, but did not understand why the taxmen were slow on putting the gavel down on Gillman & Abbey.
Workers also recall that Abbey, a Jehovah Witnesses elder, had also dropped hints that he was aspiring to be senior partner and that he hoped when the time came, he would get their (workers) nod.
Meanwhile the accountant, still unidentified by the paper, was reportedly hounded out with two dismissal letters, differently dated; though staff claimed the accountant had always been meticulous with the VAT returns, which the workers swore were last seen on the MD’s desk before Roger arrived.
The MD says the accountant is to blame for the non-payment of the VAT liabilities to the government and hence the dismissal.
The New Crusading GUIDE is still independently investigating the case and the fate of Roger Gillman, who had his passport seized but later managed to fly out of Ghana, tail between legs, as well as the who this son of the woman justice is.
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