32-year-old man jailed 35 years for fraud; absconded with $50,000 under pretext of converting it into cedis

 A 32-year-old man has been sentenced to 35 years' imprisonment in hard labour for the offence of defrauding by false pretenses.

Abdul Munaf Lawal was jailed by the Asokwa Circuit Court.

The conviction followed a case reported on July 27, 2023, in which Abdul Munaf Lawal collected US$50,000 from the complainant under the pretext of converting it to the Ghana cedi equivalent.

However, after receiving the funds, Abdul Munaf Lawal failed to fulfil his part of the agreement and subsequently absconded.

Following extensive investigations, he was arrested in Accra on June 27, 2025, in connection with a similar offence and was subsequently transferred to the Ashanti Regional Police Command for further investigations.

He was charged and arraigned at the Asokwa Circuit Court one presided over by Mr. Fred Obikyere.

He initially pleaded not guilty and was remanded into police custody.

On September 3, 2025, Lawal changed his plea to guilty, and during proceedings, the prosecution informed the court that the accused had a prior conviction and had served a 24-month sentence for the offence of stealing.

The head of the Public Affairs Unit of the Ashanti Regional Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Godwin Ahianyo made this known in a statement.