Court gives Marketing Officer GHC 100k bail over alleged theft

An Accra Circuit Court has granted bail of GH₵100,000.00 with two sureties to a former cement distribution company marketing officer accused of misappropriating GH₵176,693.50 from his employer.

The court presided over by Mrs. Susanna Eduful specified that one of the sureties for the accused, Emmanuel Osei, aged 34, must be a public servant earning at least GH₵2,500.00. Osei has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is scheduled to reappear in court on January 8, 2025, for cross-examination.

According to Police Chief Inspector Ebenezer Teye-Okuffo, the complainant, Mr. Eugene Twumasi, serves as the general manager of Clemonic Company Limited, a cement distribution business operating in Accra and Kumasi. The alleged incident occurred approximately 18 months into Osei’s tenure as a marketing officer.

The prosecution explained that Osei’s role involved finding customers for the company and coordinating cement deliveries based on their orders. He was also responsible for collecting payments from customers and depositing them into the company’s bank accounts.

In January 2022, Mr. Twumasi reportedly discovered that most of the customers brought in by Osei owed the company a total of GH₵176,693.50. When pressed for an explanation, Osei claimed the customers were unable to settle their debts. However, during visits to these customers, they denied owing any money to the company.

Investigations revealed that Osei had collected the funds from customers but failed to deposit them into the company’s accounts. Instead, he falsely reported that the customers were in arrears. During questioning, Osei admitted to dishonestly appropriating the money.

The police recovered GH₵50,000.00 from Osei during the investigation, which was returned to the company. Osei has since been charged with theft and brought before the court.