Ghana High Court: Nana Yaw Bonsu Kwarteng Case Elevated for Fraud Charges

• The fraud case against Nana Yaw Bonsu Kwarteng and Sally Akosua Amoasah has been withdrawn from Circuit Courts in Accra.
• The Attorney-General's office is consolidating the charges for referral to Ghana's High Court.
• Kwarteng, an online pastor, is accused of defrauding seven women, including an ambassador, through romance scams and blackmail using intimate videos.
• Both Kwarteng and his wife, Amoasah, face charges including conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretenses, with additional charges for each.
• This move to the High Court signifies a more serious and consolidated prosecution strategy for complex online fraud cases in Ghana.

This development could establish a significant precedent for how future Ghana romance scam prosecution efforts are handled, potentially leading to more robust enforcement mechanisms and higher penalties for offenders.

The legal proceedings against Nana Yaw Bonsu Kwarteng, an entrepreneur and self-proclaimed online pastor, and his wife, Sally Akosua Amoasah, a Chartered Accountant, have been elevated to Ghana's High Court. This significant development follows the withdrawal of their cases from two separate Circuit Courts in Accra. A representative for the Attorney-General informed Circuit Court One that steps were underway to consolidate the multiple charges against Kwarteng, leading to the subsequent discharge of both individuals from the lower court.

The couple faces serious allegations, including six counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretenses. While both Kwarteng and Amoasah have entered pleas of not guilty to these charges, the decision to move the Nana Yaw Bonsu Kwarteng case to the High Court signals a more centralized and potentially more robust prosecution strategy for complex financial crimes in Ghana. This procedural shift, involving the Attorney-General Ghana fraud case, aims to streamline the legal process by combining the separate Circuit Court cases, which were previously pending before Circuit Courts One and 10.

The prosecution's amended facts detail a sophisticated scheme allegedly orchestrated by Kwarteng, often leveraging his online persona as a pastor with approximately 21,000 followers on an Instagram page named "Nana Bonsu Kwarteng." He is accused of targeting women, including an ambassador and several businesswomen among the seven complainants, through alleged romance scams. The method typically involved Kwarteng initiating contact with Instagram followers, proposing friendship, and then claiming divine revelation that the woman was destined to be his wife, culminating in marriage proposals.

Following these proposals, Kwarteng allegedly visited the families of some complainants, including one in Nigeria. He would then claim involvement in a lucrative car tyre business and solicit funds under various pretexts. For instance, he allegedly collected $33,000 from one complainant, asserting the money was needed to clear a container of tyres incurring demurrage, despite knowing she had borrowed the sum from a business associate. Another complainant reportedly lost GH¢25,000 for a similar car tyre clearance, while others were defrauded of $4,000, GH¢22,000, and additional foreign currencies. These allegations form the core of the Nana Yaw Bonsu Kwarteng fraud charges, highlighting a pattern of financial exploitation.

Beyond the financial deception, the allegations against Kwarteng extend to severe forms of blackmail. The prosecution claims he secretly recorded intimate photographs and videos of some victims, subsequently using these materials to threaten or extort them when they demanded repayment of their funds. In one instance, after allegedly collecting $33,000, Kwarteng reportedly avoided the complainant and threatened to publish nude videos of her, even sharing these videos with his wife, Sally Akosua Amoasah.

Sally Akosua Amoasah faces an additional charge of making, producing, and possessing obscene material, while Kwarteng is also charged with defrauding by false pretenses, resisting arrest, and similar counts related to obscene material. The prosecution further alleges that Amoasah was aware of Kwarteng's activities, having participated in his online services by reading Bible passages. When complainants began pursuing the couple, Kwarteng allegedly deactivated his Instagram page, and Amoasah changed hers. Both reportedly went into hiding when the Police and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) initiated investigations, with Kwarteng allegedly failing to report despite repeated police invitations. Sally has been granted bail in the amount of GH¢100,000 with two sureties, with a condition to report to the case investigator twice weekly.

The consolidation and referral of the Nana Yaw Bonsu Kwarteng case to the High Court in Ghana marks a pivotal moment in the nation's approach to prosecuting sophisticated online fraud. This move, spearheaded by the Attorney-General, underscores a commitment to addressing multi-victim, online-enabled fraud and blackmail cases with increased gravity and consolidated legal resources. The direct involvement of the Attorney-General Ghana fraud case suggests a recognition of the complexity and widespread impact of such alleged crimes, particularly those involving public figures or individuals leveraging religious platforms.

This development could establish a significant precedent for how future Ghana romance scam prosecution efforts are handled, potentially leading to more robust enforcement mechanisms and higher penalties for offenders. By centralizing the proceedings in the High Court, the legal system aims to ensure a more efficient and comprehensive adjudication of the multiple charges and numerous complainants involved. The elevation of this case signals a clear intent to tackle organized online deception more seriously, moving beyond the fragmented approach of lower courts to a unified, higher-level prosecution.

This development signals a more serious and consolidated prosecution of complex online fraud cases in Ghana, moving from Circuit to High Court. Lawyers should note the Attorney-General's direct involvement, which could set a precedent for how multi-victim, online-enabled fraud and blackmail cases are handled, potentially leading to more robust enforcement and higher penalties.

Source: Original reporting via Ghana News Agency