By Prince Ahenkorah
The Branch Manager of Oyibi Area Community Bank PLC, Adjetey Isaac Noi, has appeared before the Adenta Circuit Court for allegedly stealing GH¢1 million from the bank.
The 28-year-old banker has been accused of reactivating a dormant customer account and allegedly using it as a transit account to transfer funds to several accounts held at different financial institutions between March and September 2025.
Noi has been charged with stealing and has pleaded not guilty.
The case, presided over by Mrs Angela Attachie, saw the court grant the accused bail in the sum of GH¢1 million. He was also ordered to provide two sureties, both of whom are required to justify the bail with landed property.
Defence counsel had prayed the court to grant Noi bail, arguing that he was not a flight risk and had strong ties to the jurisdiction.
Counsel told the court that Noi was a resident of Dodowa in the Greater Accra Region and was therefore unlikely to abscond if granted bail.
The court subsequently granted the bail application subject to the conditions imposed.
Presenting the facts, Chief Inspector Maxwell Lanyo said the complainant in the case was the Head of Audit and Inspection at ARB Apex Bank PLC, while Noi was the Branch Manager of Oyibi Area Community Bank PLC at the time of the alleged offence.
According to the prosecution, the alleged fraud came to light during an audit and inspection exercise at the Oyibi branch.
Chief Inspector Lanyo told the court that on September 28, 2026, the complainant, together with a team of auditors, visited the branch following intelligence that fraudulent transactions were allegedly taking place at the facility.
The audit team subsequently examined transactions and financial activities at the branch to establish the credibility of the information received.
During the exercise, the auditors allegedly detected a transfer of GH¢1 million from an internal account of the bank into another account maintained at the same bank.
The account, identified as account number 3061110010021221, was reportedly held in the name of Nii Adjei Sowatey.
The discovery raised concerns among the auditors, who suspected that the transaction could be linked to the alleged fraudulent activities under investigation.
The prosecution said the audit team immediately reported the transaction to the head office of ARB Apex Bank.
Management subsequently directed the complainant to lodge an official complaint with the police to facilitate investigations into the circumstances surrounding the transfer.
The police then commenced investigations and arrested Noi for questioning over the alleged movement of the funds.
According to the prosecution, Noi failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the transfer during interrogation.
Chief Inspector Lanyo further told the court that preliminary investigations had established that the account into which the GH¢1 million was transferred had previously been dormant.
The prosecution alleged that Noi reactivated the account without the consent or authorisation of its holder.
The account was subsequently allegedly used as a transit account through which the funds were channelled to various accounts held at other financial institutions.
The prosecution is continuing its investigations into the alleged transactions and the persons connected to the movement of the funds.
Noi remains on bail as the case proceeds.