National Service Person Remanded in Crypto-Linked Theft of GH¢303,950 from Bank Account
Jesper Kobina Mensah, a 25-year-old National Service Person, has been remanded into police custody by the Accra Circuit Court for allegedly stealing GH¢303,950 through unauthorized electronic transfers from a Stanbic Bank Ghana Ltd customer’s account.
The incident, reported on July 15, 2025, by a Ghanaian customer based in South Africa, involved the transfer of funds into multiple MTN Mobile Money wallets, with Mensah now facing charges of stealing under Section 124(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), as amended, and Section 107 of the Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 (Act 772).
Mensah, who pleaded not guilty before Her Honour Sedinam Awo Kwadam, was denied bail following arguments from the prosecution, led by DSP Emmanuel Nyamekye, who requested additional time to complete investigations. The court has yet to announce Mensah’s next appearance date.
According to court details, the stolen funds were transferred to mobile money accounts registered under Abraham Asiedu (0598633019), Stephen Eshun (0544116186), and Fatau Sulley (0597564947). Sulley, identified as a Binance merchant trading in USDT cryptocurrency, was arrested on July 28, 2025, and admitted to receiving funds for crypto transactions but claimed he acted only as a middleman.
Police intelligence led to Mensah’s arrest on August 28 at his hideout in Nungua, Accra, where a search uncovered nine mobile phones, two laptops, 108 registered Telecel SIM cards, 27 empty Telecel SIM starter packs, 72 registered MTN SIM cards, 88 empty MTN SIM starter packs, and other equipment linked to digital fraud.
In his caution statement, Mensah admitted to using two phone numbers linked to the suspicious transfers but claimed he was acting on instructions from unidentified Chinese nationals who directed him to convert the funds into USDT and transfer them via the Binance platform. Detective Sergeant James Kwesi Turkson, the case investigator, confirmed ongoing efforts to trace these alleged international accomplices.
The case has raised concerns about cybersecurity vulnerabilities in Ghana’s financial sector, particularly in mobile money and cryptocurrency transactions.
Posts on X reflect public alarm, with some users questioning the ease of such fraud and others calling for stricter regulations on digital platforms. One post noted, “GH¢303k stolen by a National Service Person? This shows how porous our systems are.”
Stanbic Bank, represented by its Manager of Investigations, Genevieve Ama Gadikor, reported the theft after the customer noticed unauthorized transactions. The case follows a pattern of financial crimes, including a recent Access Bank fraud involving GH¢164,000, highlighting the need for enhanced internal controls and fraud detection systems in Ghana’s banking sector.
