The Circuit Court in Accra presided over by His Honour Mr Samuel Bright Acquah has remanded former Black Stars striker Prince Tagoe into lawful custody until next year, January 4, 2023.
Prince Tagoe, popularly known as Prince of Goals pleaded not guilty to the charge of defrauding by false pretense of former footballer George Antwi Boateng to the sum of $40, 000 dollars.
Even though Counsel for the accused Lawyer George Asamani prayed for the court to admit the accused person to bail, the request was turned down after the prosecutor Chief Inspector Agartha Abena Asantewaa opposed the bail on the grounds that the accused is a flight risk.
Brief facts
Per the brief facts of the case as presented to the court by the Prosecutor Chief Inspt. Agartha Asantewaa, the complainant is George Antwi Boateng, an Ex-Ghanaian footballer based in Germany while the accused person Prince Tagoe is also an Ex-Ghanaian footballer who also once lived in Germany.
According to the prosecutor, the accused person was once a player under the management of the complainant in Germany and in the year 2020, both parties met in Ghana and in the course of their conversations the complainant told the accused person that he needed a 4X4 Lexus vehicle to buy.
Chief Inspt. Asantewaa said, the accused person immediately agreed to import the vehicle for the complainant at a cost of $40.000.00 USD equivalent to (GHc265, 200).
She said on January 8, 2021, $40,000 USD was paid into the accused person’s First Atlantic Bank Account No. 0016531332032 which accused person acknowledged receipt through a phone call to the complainant that the money had hit his account.
The prosecutor said, the accused person then promised to deliver the vehicle to the complainant on the March 30, 2021 but the date elapsed yet the aceused person failed to fulfil his part of the obligation.
She said the accused person then called the complainant and pleaded for an additional two weeks to produce the vehicle as the complainant obliged him.
She told the court that the two weeks expired but still the accused person was not able to import the vehicle as promised.
According to him, on April 27, 2021, the complaint came down to Ghana to receive his vehicle but to no avail and when the complainant called to demand for his vehicle, the accused person stated that he could not import the vehicle but rather used the money for his personal pressing issues.
The prosecutor said he was sourcing funds from his bankers to defray the complainant’s debt. The complainant who was not happy about the issue reported the matter to the Police and the accused person was arrested.
She said in the course of investigations the accused person admitted the offence and pleaded to be given some weeks to pay the money and it was granted.
The two weeks passed but the accused person failed to pay the same and after investigations, the accused person was charged with the offence and put before this court.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Murtala Inusah
