Pastor, mason hot over GH¢700,000 gold fraud
By DL News
Published
2 min read
The pastor, Erasmus Billow of Increased Ministry, and his alleged accomplice, Joshua Adamptey, are facing charges of abetment of crime and defrauding by false pretences respectively.
An Accra Circuit Court has granted bail to a pastor and a mason accused of duping a driver out of GH¢700,000 in a supposed gold supply deal.
The pastor, Erasmus Billow of Increased Ministry, and his alleged accomplice, Joshua Adamptey, are facing charges of abetment of crime and defrauding by false pretences respectively. A third suspect, identified only as Albert, is still on the run.
The two pleaded not guilty and were admitted to bail of GH¢100,000 each, backed by two sureties with a title deed. The case, presided over by Mrs. Susana Edufful, has been adjourned to October 14, 2025.
According to prosecutors Chief Inspector Godwin Wemegah and Inspector Clement J. Acquah, the complainant, Yarkeeni Iddrisu, is a driver who was once a close friend of Pastor Billow.
In August 2024, Billow allegedly introduced Iddrisu to Adamptey and Albert, claiming they had inherited a large quantity of gold from their mother. Billow said he had personally seen the gold in Somanya and persuaded the complainant to provide money to help “purify” it with oil and other materials.
Trusting his friends, the complainant borrowed money and even sold his car, raising GH¢700,000, which he gave to the accused in instalments.
The accused later told him that a final “spiritual pacification” was required before he could access the gold. They arranged a ritual bath at a riverside in Somanya, where a group of armed men ambushed the complainant, beat him, and robbed him of GH¢6,000 in cash. The attackers also took his phone and transferred GH¢11,000 to their own accounts, allegedly with the knowledge of the accused persons.
The matter was reported to Baatsona Police on August 15, 2025. Billow was arrested shortly after and released on police enquiry bail. On September 6, 2025, Adamptey was arrested at his hideout in Somanya.
In his caution statement, Adamptey reportedly admitted to receiving money from the complainant but claimed he only remembered GH¢200,000, which he said had been given to his “spiritual father” in Benin.
The case continues next month.
