Bank staff steals GH¢1.2 million from customers’ account to buy iphone 14, car and ticket to Dubai

A contract staff member of a prominent bank in Ghana has been apprehended by the police agency for his alleged involvement in embezzling nearly GH¢1.2 million from customers’ bank accounts. The victims include a former Inspector General of Police and a deceased judge.

The suspect, identified as 25-year-old Emmanuel Sakyi Afriyie, reportedly utilized the stolen funds for personal gain. He purchased extravagant items such as an iPhone 14 Pro Max and a Toyota Camry.

Furthermore, he distributed portions of the pilfered money among 17 different bank accounts belonging to both himself and his accomplices.

In a bid to evade capture, Afriyie had even booked an airplane ticket for himself and his girlfriend, planning to abscond to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Swift action by the security agencies led to Afriyie’s arrest at Kotoka International Airport on June 4, 2023. It is alleged that the accused exploited his boss’s password to carry out these fraudulent transactions.

Using a covertly filmed video of his boss entering her password, Afriyie gained access to the necessary information and subsequently siphoned funds from the customers’ accounts over a two-month period.

Afriyie, along with several accomplices, has been presented before the court, where he faces charges of theft and conspiracy, among others.

Additionally, he faces individual charges of forgery and falsification of documents, amounting to a total of 13 charges against him. While his accomplices have been granted bail, Afriyie remains in custody.

The police are actively pursuing 11 other suspected accomplices who are currently at large.

The Head of Fraud Detection and Operations at the bank serves as the complainant in the case.

According to the complainant, Afriyie had been employed as a contract staff member since February 2022 and had been assigned as a Processing Officer at the bank’s Osu branch.

His responsibilities included assisting customers with loan processing, T-bill processing, debit card processing, dormant account activation, and customer account maintenance.

In February 2023, Afriyie registered for an online coding course, the annual subscription fee of which amounted to US$174.30 (equivalent to GH¢2,287.69).

Surprisingly, instead of paying for the course himself, Afriyie used one of the bank’s customer’s Visa cards to make the payment on February 6, 2023.

This incident, coupled with Afriyie’s subsequent swift resignation effective May 31, 2023, raised suspicions among bank officials, prompting an investigation.

During the investigation, the bank’s fraud team, comprising IT experts, uncovered further evidence of Afriyie’s illicit activities.

They discovered that on April 20, 2023, Afriyie had surreptitiously accessed a colleague’s user ID and password to modify the contact details of another customer’s account.

Subsequently, on April 21, 2023, Afriyie personally set up internet and mobile banking access on the same customer’s account using his own credentials.

This allowed him to operate on the account without triggering SMS alerts to the victimized customer.

Between April 21 and May 12, 2023, Afriyie exploited his full access to the account, fraudulently transferring a total of GH¢945,133.00, inclusive of charges, to various beneficiaries. These transfers included GH¢90,000.00 to a girlfriend of an alleged accomplice