A/R: Man jailed 35 years for $50,000 fraud

The Ashanti Regional Police Command has secured a major conviction in a high-profile fraud case, with 32-year-old Abdul Munaf Lawal sentenced to 35 years in prison with hard labour for defrauding a victim of $50,000.

The conviction, announced in a statement by DSP Godwin Ahianyo, Head of Public Affairs for the Command, brings closure to a case first reported in July 2023. Lawal had taken $50,000 from a complainant under the guise of converting it into Ghana cedis but vanished after receiving the funds.

After nearly two years on the run, police arrested Lawal in Accra on June 27, 2025, while he was being investigated for a similar fraud. He was transferred to Kumasi, where fresh evidence tied him directly to the earlier case.

He was charged and brought before the Asokwa Circuit Court 1, presided over by His Honour Fred Obikyere (Esq.). Lawal initially denied the charges and was remanded in custody. However, during proceedings on September 3, 2025, he reversed his plea to guilty. The prosecution further revealed that Lawal was a repeat offender, having previously served a two-year prison term for theft.

The stiff sentence, police said, underscores the seriousness with which the justice system is treating financial crimes and repeat offenders.