Court Convicts Man For Spending Cash Mistakenly Credited To His Account

The Accra Circuit Court has convicted a 21-year-old unemployed man who withdrew and spent 17,812 cedis that was wrongly credited to his bank account.

Felix Kwame Akakpo declined to refund the money to the bank as he claimed the “Money was a gift from God.”

The court charged him with stealing after he pleaded guilty.

The accused pleaded with the judge to have mercy on him and said that his family was prepared to help him return the money to the bank.

The defendant acknowledged his actions were bad and said that everyone he intended to help with the money had abandoned him.

Since he was a first-time offender, a lawyer acting as a friend of the court asked the court to impose a non-custodial sentence because he had quickly accepted his guilt and was prepared to return the money.

The court, presided over by Mrs. Evelyn Asamoah, was informed by the prosecution, led by Police Inspector Clemence Takyi, that the defendant was a first-time offender.

The court said that in determining Akakpo’s sentence, it took into account the accused’s admission of guilt, his willingness to pay back the money, and the fact that he was a first-time offender.

Therefore, it found the defendant guilty based on his own admission of guilt and ordered him to pay a GHS 1,800 fine in default and serve a 20-day jail term.

The court further mandated that the offender pay the complainant’s money back.

The prosecution’s case was that the complainant—whose identity has been changed—is a banker who works for UBA Bank Ghana Limited.

According to the prosecution, Akakpo lived in Accra’s Spintex. According to the prosecution, the complainant accidentally transferred GHS17,812 on April 26 to the convict’s Fidelity Bank account, 2100406642414, when she was working at the bank.

A few days later, according to Inspector Takyi, the complainant discovered the error and attempted to have the transfer reversed, but was told that Akakpo had already withdrew the funds.

The prosecution claims that when Akakpo was approached by phone to return the money, he declined, saying “it is a gift from God.”

Akakpo was apprehended, according to the prosecution, after a report was made to the police.

Akakpo admitted to the crime, but the prosecution claimed he was unable to account for the money during the course of the investigation.