A 59-year-old car dealer accused of swindling a businessman of GH₵620,000 in a gold transaction has been remanded into Police custody by the Achimota Circuit Court.
Gbegoueu Evrard, a French national, is said to have collected the money under the pretext of selling to the complainant, Hayford Boadi, gold but failed.
Evrard is facing a charge of defrauding by false pretences.
His accomplices are Ernest Kweku Antwi, a 32-year-old aluminum fabricator, and Jordan Ansah, a 24-year-old private security man.
Evrard and his two accomplices have been jointly charged with conspiracy to commit crime to wit defrauding by false pretence.
Antwi and Ansah have pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Evrard ‘s plea could not be taken by the court because there was no French interpreter available. It therefore preserved his plea.
The court presided over by Mr Isaac Addo ordered the Registrar of the court to make arrangement for a French interpreter to assist the court at the next sitting on March 13, 2024
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Stephen Ahiale said the complainant was a resident of Dunkwa-on-Offin in the Central Region.
Prosecution said during the year 2021, Evrard told a witness that he had a friend in Ghana who dealt in refined gold.
The prosecution said the witness contacted the complainant and informed him about the business which he (the complainant) expressed interest in.
ASP Ahiale said the complainant later contacted Evrard on mobile phone through the said witness to import the raw gold and Evrard told them that his friend who was a gold dealer needed some money to perform some rituals on the gold before it could be sold out.
Prosecution said to convince the complainant and the witness, Evrard took photographs of himself and the said gold and forwarded them.
Based on that representation, the complainant parted with GH₵620,000 in bits to Evrard, through the witness for the said rituals.
However, after Evrard collected the money, he failed to honour his promise and “kept tossing the complainant and witness with different stories.”
In February 2024, the witness lured Evrard with another Gold business transaction for a white man client in Accra.
Prosecution said Evrard on hearing the quantum of money involved, he quickly conspired with Antwi and Ansah and one Abdallah, now at large, to defraud the witness.
The prosecutor said Evrard invited the witness to meet him in Accra in a few days to see the said gold.
Prosecution said the witness on his arrival in Accra from Ivory Coast reported the case to the Police for investigations.
On February 20, 2024, Evrard met the witness in Accra and took him to a gated house at Lapaz Fishpond to meet one Abdullai who was his partner for the said gold business.
While the said business meeting was going on in the house, the Police swiftly entered and arrested the three accused persons with five coated metallic objects, looking like refined gold bars in their possession.
Prosecution said Abdullai however managed to escape through a back door of the house.
The court was told that the exhibits were being forwarded for an Assay testing and report to enhance investigations.
Source: GNA