An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced a 26-year-old woman to three years in prison for stealing $5,000 from a lawyer’s office drawer to fund personal purchases.

Linda Teiko Teye, who was unemployed at the time but working informally as a cleaner, pleaded guilty to charges of unlawful entry and theft. The Court, presided over by Mr. Isaac Addo, sentenced her to 36 months on each count. However, the sentences will run concurrently.

The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Jonas Lawer, told the Court that the complainant, whose name was withheld, is a lawyer residing in Haatso, Accra. Linda, meanwhile, lived in Teshie Mangoase and occasionally worked as a cleaner in one of the apartments in the same building as the lawyer’s office located at Tse-Addo.

On April 2, 2025, the complainant left $7,500 in his office drawer, locked it, but inadvertently left the key behind. When he returned on April 19, he discovered that $5,000 had gone missing. He immediately reported the matter to the “Rasta” Police Station.

As part of investigations, police received intelligence that Linda had recently been seen spending large amounts of U.S. dollars. Acting on this information, officers visited her residence on April 21, 2025, where she was arrested.

A search of her room uncovered a variety of newly purchased items, including a bed, mattress, two-in-one sofa, bedsheets, three dresses, standing fan, rice cooker, blender, duvet, iPhone 6x, gas cylinder, six ladies’ bags, footwear, and a kettle.

According to the prosecution, Linda admitted during interrogation that she had monitored the lawyer’s routine and discovered that he often hid his office keys on a window ledge. Taking advantage of this, she accessed the office, unlocked the drawer, and stole the cash.

Linda also confessed that she used the stolen money to purchase all the items found in her possession. She managed to refund $500 of the stolen amount.

The court concluded that the evidence, including her confession and the recovered items, confirmed her guilt beyond a doubt.

Source: GNA

A special police task force targeting illegal mining has seized four excavators and arrested nine individuals in a coordinated operation at Akani, near Asankragua in the Western Region.

Two of the excavators were intercepted while being transported on low-bed trucks under the escort of armed men suspected to be military personnel. The seizure followed credible intelligence about the suspicious movement of heavy-duty mining equipment outside the Samreboï Township.

According to ACP Eric Asiedu, Director of Special Operations at the Police Headquarters, the team acted swiftly on the tip-off. Under the command of ASP Mr. Adorye, officers tracked the machinery to a designated location and halted the convoy, successfully impounding the vehicles.

Earlier, the team had raided a large illegal mining site at Akani, where the arrests were made and additional mining equipment was seized. The operation marks a significant step in the ongoing national efforts to clamp down on galamsey (illegal mining) activities that continue to threaten Ghana’s environment and natural resources.

Police say all seized equipment is now in secure custody. The operation aligns with the Inspector-General of Police’s broader strategy to intensify enforcement actions against illegal mining across the country.

Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, former Board Chair of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), has been formally charged with conspiracy to commit a crime—specifically, wilfully causing financial loss to the state.

The charges, filed under Sections 23(1) and 179A(3)(a) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), are linked to a $2 million payment made in 2019 to Africa Investor Holdings Limited for the development of an urban Sky Train system in Accra—a project that never came to fruition.

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Court documents reveal that the funds were released in February 2019 without proper board authorization for either the share acquisition or the disbursement. As the funds belonged to GIIF, a state-owned entity, their unauthorized release has sparked legal action.

Investigations indicate that due process was not followed. Prof. Ameyaw-Akumfi, named as the second accused, told investigators in his caution statement that he approved the payment on the advice of the first accused, Solomon Asamoah, who served as Chief Executive Officer of GIIF at the time.

However, neither Ameyaw-Akumfi nor Asamoah has been able to explain the whereabouts of the funds.

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Prof. Ameyaw-Akumfi was recently arrested in connection with the failed Sky Train agreement, which was initially touted as a transformative urban transport solution for Accra. The proposed elevated light rail system was intended to ease traffic congestion in the capital and other major cities.

The project was to be executed through a public-private partnership between the Government of Ghana and Africa Investment (PTY) Limited, a South Africa-based firm that was expected to provide funding, technology, and infrastructure. Despite the substantial initial payment, the project never advanced beyond the planning stage.