Prophet and son granted GH¢3m bail in alleged property fraud

Daniel Nkansah, founder of New Pentecost Vision Church, who was held over an alleged GH¢2m property fraud has been granted bail by an Accra Circuit Court. 

Nkansah, the 59-year-old former presidential candidate for the New Vision Party, was admitted to bail in the sum of GH¢2 million with three sureties to be justified. 

His son, Daniel Boahene Nkansah, a 34-year-old administrator, who is an accomplice, was also admitted to bail in the sum of GH¢1 million with two sureties to be justified. 

The court presided over by Mrs Afia Owusuwa Appiah ordered the accused persons to report to the police every fortnight. 

The accused persons are alleged to have collected the money under the pretext of selling nine properties and houses in some suburbs in Accra but failed. 

The matter has been adjourned to February 6. 

The accused persons have been charged with conspiracy to commit crime, to wit, defrauding by false pretences. 

They have pleaded not guilty. 

The court in December last year remanded Prophet Nkansah after it issued a bench warrant for his arrest for failing to appear before it. 

Boahene Nkansah, his son, was, however, present. The police then picked up Nkansah and arraigned him. 

At the proceedings, a team of three lawyers represented Nkansah and his son. 

One of the lawyers prayed for bail for the accused persons, saying for now, they were deemed innocent until proven guilty by the court. 

The defence counsel said Nkansah was a former presidential candidate, who also had a church with people under him. 

According to the defence counsel, the matter before the court was civil and same was before the High Court. 

It held that the accused persons were not flight risk and that they had cooperated with the police, and not in the position to interfere with police investigations. 

Prosecution led by Chief Inspector Samuel Ahiabor did not oppose the bail but prayed the court to make the conditions of the bail such that the accused persons would appear to stand trial. 

The accused persons are alleged to have collected GH¢2,030,000 from one Adam Sadiana for nine landed properties with buildings, but failed because they claimed they had issues at the court in relation to some of the properties. 

The said landed properties were said to be at Achimota, Radio Gold, Mataheko, Bubuashie, Dansoman, Adabraka, Odorkor, Ateku and Laterbiokoshie. 

When the accused persons brought photocopies of the site plans of the properties, the police found out that they had names of different owners – Boakye Samuel, Kofi Annan, Augustina Okyere, Etornam Ami Tamakloe and George Opare. 

They failed to produce the holders of the site plans. 

The police said investigations showed that the accused persons did not have any title to the various properties they showed to the complainant. 

In one of the cases, a property with bungalows was found to belong to KATECO Senior High School at North Kaneshie, the prosecutor said.