A 25-year-old National Service Person, Jesper Kobina Mensah, has been arrested by police after siphoning a staggering GH¢303,950 from a Stanbic Bank G
A 25-year-old National Service Person, Jesper Kobina Mensah, has been arrested by police after siphoning a staggering GH¢303,950 from a Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited account and diverting the funds into cryptocurrency trades.
How The Fraud Was Uncovered
The theft came to light after the account holder, a Ghanaian resident in South Africa, noticed unauthorized electronic transfers from his account.
Alarmed by the missing funds, he promptly reported the matter, leading to police investigators to trace the suspicious transactions.
Investigations revealed that the money had been moved in tranches into various MTN Mobile Money accounts registered under different names: 0598633019 (Abraham Seidu), 0544116186 (Stephen Eshun), and 0597564947 (Fatau Sulley).
Cryptocurrency Connection
One of the recipients, Fatau Sulley, was identified as a Binance merchant who trades in USDT, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar.
During interrogation, Sulley admitted receiving funds through Mobile Money for cryptocurrency transactions but insisted he only acted as a middleman, facilitating trades on behalf of others.
The use of cryptocurrency in the fraud has raised further concern, as virtual assets have increasingly become a tool for laundering illicit funds due to the anonymity they provide.
Arrest And Discovery Of Fraud Tools
The trail eventually led investigators to Nungua, a suburb of Accra, where Jesper Kobina was arrested at his hideout.
A search of his residence exposed what police described as a mini digital crime hub. Among the items retrieved were:
2 laptops
Several mobile phones
108 registered SIM cards
27 empty Telecel SIM starter packs
72 registered MTN SIM cards
88 empty MTN SIM starter packs
Other telecommunication and digital equipment linked to fraudulent operations
The discovery reinforced suspicions that Kobina was deeply involved in a broader scheme of electronic and SIM card fraud, possibly tied to a network of cybercriminals.
Kobina’s Confession and Defence
In his caution statement, Kobina admitted ownership and use of the two critical mobile numbers linked to the illicit transactions.
He also acknowledged receiving the stolen funds.
However, he denied acting independently, claiming that he was instructed by unidentified Chinese nationals who allegedly directed him to convert the stolen cash into USDT through Binance and forward the assets.
Despite this claim, police say Kobina has not been able to provide credible evidence to support his defence.
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