An Accra Circuit Court has ordered the remand of Michael Sumnaya Adedina, an Accountant employed at Medeena Consult Limited, into police custody.
Mr Adedina faces charges for unauthorized attempts to collect tax, forgery, stealing, and fraudulent breach of trust, among others, contrary to various sections of the Revenue Administration Act 2016 (Act 915) and the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29).
Adedina pleaded not guilty to all charges and has been remanded to reappear on January 17, 2024. Initially seeking bail, the accused's plea was declined by the court.
The court presided over by Mrs Afua Owusua Appiah, struck out two counts that did not support the charges.
According to the prosecution, the complainant in the case is the Country Manager for BMG Infrastructure Company Limited, a foreign-owned mining waste processing company located in Tarkwa, Western Region.
The accused, representing himself as a professional accountant, offered his services to the company, including handling statutory payments and preparing various tax documents for the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust.
Since his appointment in 2021, Adedina allegedly collected monthly payments from the company for tax purposes, presenting official receipts from the GRA to the complainant as proof of payment.
However, a tax audit conducted by the GRA in May 2023 revealed a significant tax liability of GH¢2,495,778.00 against the company. Subsequent investigations by the company disclosed that Adedina had failed to remit the collected funds as taxes to the GRA, and he was accused of forging GRA official receipts.
An official complaint was filed on December 29, 2023, leading to Adedina's arrest. During questioning, he admitted to the offence, revealing that he had manipulated GRA payment receipts using PDF to Word conversion.
He confessed to using the ill-gotten funds to purchase mining concessions, a Toyota Hilux pickup (GH¢650,000.00), a Lexus SUV vehicle (GH¢550,000.00), and constructing a four-bedroom self-contained house in Tarkwa Aboso.
Investigations are ongoing to identify and take action against these acquired assets.
