"Fugitive" Caught In NPP Parliamentary Primaries Race: Wanted In Sierra Leone For Fraud

A governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary hopeful, who is busily campaigning to contest in the party’s parliamentary primary in the Atiwa East Constituency of the Eastern region in April 2020, is seriously wanted in Sierra Leone, where he has allegedly duped hundreds of customers with his financial firm

Cudjoe Kafui Amegah, is reported to have allegedly swindled customers of his microfinance business, Eclipse Microfinance Company, together with some unnamed Ghanaian partners, to a staggering Le2.3 billion, the equivalent of US$236, 808, which is over GHC1, 286 million.

He is said to be on the wanted list of the Sierra Leone Police and it is expected that anytime he visits Serra Leone, he will be apprehended by the vigilant Police for possible prosecution.

The Herald is informed that, Sierra Leonean High Commission in Ghana, has also made several effort to have him arrested and extradited to that country for prosecution, but the NPP government, has failed to act.

Having sneaked back home to contest for political office quietly and probably go hide in Ghana’s Parliament, Kafui, has picked nomination forms of the governing party and he is busily campaigning, hoping to unseat the incumbent MP.

After laying the foundation to allegedly defraud his victims and abscond from the Sierra Leone authorities, the suspect while in Ghana, has maintained a constant flow of communication to avail himself with operational activities on the ground back in Sierra Leone.

Unfortunately for him, his cover has been blown by The Herald sources in Sierra Leone, and it appears it is just a matter of time that the suspect, will be repatriated to that country to account for his deeds.

Information intercepted by The Herald, says Kafui’s business which had Operational Office situated at Siaka Stevens Street and Directorate Office at Pademba Road in Sierra Leone, has since been closed down by that country’s Central Bank pending further investigations.

Officials of the Bank and the Police, had stormed the premises of the financial institution after they had gotten wind of the fraudulent activities of Ghanaians, including Kafui.

The two bodies, reportedly had the gates of the building in which the company was housed locked. One of the key players named only as Kweku, is currently in Police custody and reportedly helping with the investigation, while the cleaner who was arrested at the initial stage of the scandal, has been released.

Unusual of many Ghanaians who travel elsewhere to engage in one business or the other, the suspect is alleged to have set up his Eclipse Microfinance Company, simply to hoodwink clients into believing that he had good intention to multiply their deposits.

“What they told their clients was absolutely a contradiction of what the Central Bank as they noticed that, the microfinance was operating with the sole aim of fraudulently converting proceeds deposited into the microfinance kitty by some innocent and unsuspecting Sierra Leoneans”, report in the Sierra Leone media said.

The report, said this was not the first time scandal of this nature is happening in Sierra Leone.

Like it happened in Ghana last year, several of these microfinance firms, were closed down by the Akufo-Addo-led government in what it called, financial sector clean up, Sierra Leone, was also involved in a similar case years ago.

In that scandal, the syndicates reportedly came from Nigeria with a company named, Wealth Builders, where millions of moneys were lost, and a closure is yet to be brought to that case.

The case of Eclipse Micro finance, owned by Kafui and gang, therefore brings to mind that regrettable episode, except that, this time, it was by Ghanaians.

Kafui’s pending case, dent the image of Ghana internationally as across the world, Ghanaians are said to be very hard working and responsible.

It is unclear, if the NPP as a party is aware of this developing story, and disregarding it.

More to come!