Manager jailed 15 years for squandering company's $24K on sports betting

A 31-year-old Ghanaian fuel attendant in Hohoe, a city in the Volta Region was sentenced to 15 years in prison for stealing.

The mother of the suspect burst into uncontrollable tears after the sentence was read at the Hohoe Circuit Court on Wednesday, April 14, 2021.

Yussif Abubakar, a former worker of the Hohoe branch of Star Oil Company was sentenced for stealing GH¢139,118 more than $24,000 belonging to his employer.

His mother, seemingly broken by the development, needed physical support as she made her way out of the courtroom wailing.

The charges were leveled against Abubakar more than 2 years ago. Despite pleading not guilty to the charges, he was found guilty by the court after a full trial.

Mr. Yaw Opoku Acheampong who presided over the case said but for the remorse shown by Abubakar throughout the trial, he would have been handed a 20 years jail term.

Abubakar, whose lawyer was not present in court when judgment was pronounced, was also ordered to pay back the money to the company, a local media outlet, Daily Graphic reported.

He is said to have used the money for sports betting but did not win any of the bets to enable him to repay the money he took from the company's coffers.

Facts as curated from Daily Graphic

Presenting the facts of the case, the prosecution indicated that the convict was employed at Star Oil Company in Hohoe on November 17, 2012 as a washing bay manager and a pump attendant before rising through the ranks to become a branch supervisor for the same company on March 3, 2018.

According to the prosecution, on November 19, 2019, Abubakar was asked by the company's Relationship Officer, Mr Setor Alorwu, to produce receipts of payment of sales made from November 11, 2019, to November 19, 2019, but he failed to do so.

This raised suspicion of discrepancies in his accounts at the company.

A report was then lodged at the Hohoe Police Station on November 19, 2019 which led to Abubakar's detention.

An audit was subsequently conducted into the company's accounts which revealed that proceeds from sales to the tune of GH¢139,118 made from November 8-19, 2019, were missing from the sales records.

Abubakar, when questioned on the whereabouts of the money, admitted his inability to deposit the money into the company's account and said he used the money for sports betting.