Court grants forex trader GH₵5million bail over fraud, theft 

The Accra Circuit Court Nine has granted a GH₵5 million bail with four sureties to Benjamin Appiah Boateng, a forex trader, who faces charges of fraud and theft. 

The court, presided over by Mr. Samuel Bright Acquah, also ordered that one of the sureties be justified and that Boateng deposit his travel documents with the court’s registry.  

He is scheduled to appear in court again on February 5, 2025. 

Boateng is accused of defrauding two individuals, Mr. Berry Kwadwo Agyapong and Mr. David Burke, of USD300,000 and GH₵10,445,000 respectively through fraudulent online investments in UDST on the Binance cryptocurrency platform. 

Police Chief Inspector Jonas Lawyer told the court that Boateng took the money from the two complainants under the pretense of investing it in the online platforms. 

Agyapong, a business consultant, had already invested USD300,000 before introducing Boateng to Burke, a businessman.  

Burke, convinced by Agyapong’s endorsement, invested GH₵555,000 initially and later added GH₵9,890,000 to increase his investment. 

Boateng assured both complainants that the investments were performing well, with dividends being paid.  

However, when Burke requested to withdraw his investment and any dividends on December 14, 2024, Boateng stopped responding to calls.  

Burke then contacted Agyapong, who also tried reaching Boateng.  

In response, Boateng allegedly sent a WhatsApp voice note and a supposed suicide note, claiming that he had lost all the investments through online gambling on the platform “Stake.” 

This prompted the complainants to report the matter to the police, leading to Boateng’s arrest.  

He admitted to the offenses during questioning.