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Eric Fiifi Cudjoe, the Sefwi Akontombra District Manager of the Kuapa Kooko Limited (KKL), is in trouble for allegedly embezzling GH¢4,850,700, belonging to the company.

The accused was on April 6, 2018, remanded into custody by the Ejisu-Juaben Circuit Court, presided by Abdul Yusuf Assibey.

Cudjoe was apprehended by the Ashanti Regional Police Command, on March 15, 2018, and arraigned before court for breach of trust.

The accused was grabbed by the police following a complaint lodged by the Managing Director (MD) of Kuapa Kooko Limited, Mr. Samuel Adimado, that he (assessed) failed to purchase 10,212 bags of cocoa beans with the money he has allegedly embezzled.

According to the MD, the alleged embezzled funds were transferred through the ARB APEX Bank in Kumasi into the account of Cudjoe at the Amenfi Rural Bank Limited between September, 2017, and February, 2018.

The accused, husband of Fatima Ali, the President of Kuapa Kooko Cooperative Farmers and Marketing Union Limited (KKFU) which is the parent company of KKL, is said to have presented false reports to the company concerning the purchases of the cocoa beans on numerous occasions.

Kuapa Kooko Limited is a cooperative union of cocoa farmers across the country and has over 100,000 members countrywide.

Elated by the actions taken by the leadership of the KKL, the cocoa farmers have commended the management and board of directors of the KKL for taking steps to stump out corruption at the company.
The farmers say the move by the new management is reassuring and gives them hope for a brighter future.

“We are so excited about the courageous steps our leaders have taken to deal with the issue in a dispassionate manner devoid of fear and intimidation.

“This action reassures us that our little monies that has accrued over the years will not go waste,” Agya Kwasi, a cocoa farmer, in the Sefwi Akontombra area, said in Twi.

Another farmer, Adwoa Adoma from Ankaase in the Ashanti Region, said that their confidence in the management of the KKL has been boosted.

Mr. John Ankomah, a cocoa farmer from the Tain District, in the Brong-Ahafo Region, stressed the need for the accused to be incarcerated if found guilty to serve as a deterrent to others, who are mandated to manage funds of the KKL.

Mr. Adimado said his outfit would introduce an electronic system to track “everything that goes on in the company,” so as to block all loopholes of fraud at the KKL.

“When we do this, it will be very difficult for anybody to steal from the company,” he noted.

Mr. Sampson Cobbina, a board member of the KKL, said the action against the accused was a signal to staff of the company, who may be harbouring any criminal intentions that “nobody will be shielded”.