Man in court for defrauding Immigration officer; granted GH¢30k bail

The Adabraka District Court (formerly the Kaneshie District Court) has granted GH¢30,000 bail with two sureties to Nana Obeng Tandoh, a 51-year-old civil engineer, for allegedly defrauding an immigration officer under the guise of renting him an apartment.

Presiding judge Nana Abena Asoh Owusu-Omenyo ordered that one of the sureties be justified. The accused pleaded not guilty to a charge of defrauding by false pretences and is scheduled to reappear on October 30, 2025.

According to the prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Apewah Achana, the complainant, Mumuni Labaran, an immigration officer recently transferred to Accra, was seeking accommodation upon his relocation.

In June 2025, through an intermediary agent, Labaran was introduced to the accused, who presented himself as a civil engineer with multiple apartments for rent. Tandoh took the officer to a building under construction at Dzorwulu, claiming it would be completed within a month.

After inspecting the property, the complainant agreed to rent one of the rooms, paying GH¢24,000 as a year’s rent advance. However, the accused failed to deliver the apartment and subsequently went into hiding.

Chief Inspector Achana told the court that when the complainant attempted to trace the accused, he discovered several other victims who had allegedly been defrauded by Tandoh under similar circumstances, using the same Dzorwulu property.

On September 19, 2025, the accused was arrested by the Nima Divisional CID in connection with a related case of rental fraud, leading the complainant to lodge a formal complaint.

During investigations, the accused admitted to the offence in his cautioned statement, the prosecution said. Further inquiries revealed that multiple individuals had paid rent advances to Tandoh for apartments he neither owned nor controlled.

After completion of investigations, the accused was formally charged and arraigned before the court.

The case has been adjourned to October 30, 2025, for continuation. The prosecution indicated that additional complaints from other alleged victims are under review as part of a wider investigation into the suspected rental scam network.