GCB Bank Contract Staff in Court for Stealing
By Praisebell Rosemond Larbi
A 29-year-old contract staff of GCB Bank PLC has been arraigned before an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly stealing GH¢490,400 belonging to the bank.
The accused, Samuel Owusu, who worked as an electronic collector at the bank’s Abossey Okai branch in Accra, has been charged with stealing contrary to Section 124(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29). He pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The prosecution, led by Inspector Priscilla Avorgah, told the court presided over by Her Honour Evelyn Asamoah that the complainant is the Manager of Security and Fraud Investigation at GCB Bank.
According to the prosecution, Owusu’s primary duty was to collect cash from customers and deposit the amounts into their respective accounts through a dedicated electronic device provided by the bank for that purpose.
Inspector Avorgah said the offence came to light after a routine audit conducted on October 29, 2025, uncovered irregularities in transactions handled by the accused. The audit revealed that GH¢490,400 had been diverted from several customer accounts over eight months, between February and October 2025.
When confronted by his supervisor, the branch manager, and the complainant, Owusu reportedly admitted to the theft, explaining that he had used the stolen funds to invest in an online trading platform identified as “qadatralife.com” in the hope of making profits.
He was subsequently handed over to the police for investigation.
During interrogation, the accused allegedly confessed in his caution statement that he did not misappropriate the entire amount at once but systematically withheld customer deposits over several months. He stated that he would receive cash from customers but failed to credit their accounts, instead channeling the funds into the said online investment scheme.
The prosecution said the accused’s actions were uncovered after customers began reporting discrepancies in their account balances, prompting an internal review that traced the missing funds to his assigned mobile device.
Owusu was later arrested and detained to assist with further investigations. The police said efforts are underway to trace the online platform and recover the stolen amount.
