A Circuit Court in the Ashanti Region has remanded into prison custody Mr. Prince Asiedu Afriyie, known to be the Personal Assistant of the Member of Parliament for Atwima-Nwabiagya South Constituency in the Ashanti Region over an GHC800,000 recruitment scam.
He is set to reappear in Court on Tuesday June 7, 2022 to face charges of defrauding by false pretence.
The MP for the area, Honourable Emmanuel Adjei Anwhere has issued a recent statement to say it is true that the suspect on remand, Prince Asiedu Afriyie, was in his employ as his Personal Assistant for some three years between the year 2017 and 2020. The statement said that trusted role was taken from the suspect prior to the last general elections.
The scammed victims have questioned why the MP, Emmanuel Adjei Anwhere, is making this disclaimer public after the arrest of suspect, who was hitherto known by everyone to be his confidant and trusted Personal Assistant.
The disclaimer has come as a surprise to many.
Prince Asiedu was eventually arrested after various persons from the Atwima-Nwabiagya South Constituency reported him to the police that he had collected from them various cash amount over the sum of GHC800,000 with the promise of recruiting them into the various security agencies.
Prior to his remand in prison custody, Prince Asiedu was arrested twice, once in Accra and the other in Kumasi over the same offence. There was a time he was even declared wanted over the same fraud related case.
A complainant in the case indicated that the suspect took over GHc100, 000 from her alone under the guise of facilitating the recruitment of relations into various security agencies but failed to fulfill his part of the bargain.
Prince Asiedu Afriyie was reported to have taken various sums from different other persons both in the Greater Accra and Ashanti Region after which he was said to have gone into hiding and his whereabouts unknown.
MP ISSUES DISCLAIMER
Prince Asiedu Afriyie as all constituents know was my personal assistant between the period of 2017-2020. Prior to the 2020 elections, when he enrolled into the GIMPA School of Law, an agreement was reached between himself and I, that for the purposes of his peace and focus for academic work, he should arrange a possible replacement.
Subsequently, Prince Asiedu Afriyie was replaced with Benjamin Kuffour-Bonsu. Currently, Benjamin Kuffour-Bonsu is the one serving as my personal assistant.
The issue of Prince Asiedu Afriyie engaging in employment scam, fraud and money extortion came to my attention few weeks ago.
Consequently, Mr. Prince Asiedu Afriyie (Kofi Juantuah) has been arrested twice in relation to the subject matter in Accra and Kumasi.
Kindly take notice that the aforesaid Prince Asiedu Afriyie does not work under me nor under my instructions . Any purported act attributed to me or associated with my name is without my consent and authorisation.
The public and especially constituents ofa Atwima Nwabiagy South are advised to desist from transacting any business with me through the said Prince Asiedu Afriyie.
However, I condemn it in no uncertain terms and commiserate with the public regarding the mess this issue may have caused. Therefore, anyone who fails to adhere to this caution does so on their own peril.
I thank you for your support and attention.
END.
SIGNED:
EMMANUEL AGYEI ANHWERE
MP, ATWIMA NWABIAGYA SOUTH CONSTITUENCY
However, some of victims of the scam who would not take the excuse of their lawmaker in local radio interviews asked “You claimed Afriyie stopped working with you as PA, did you communicate Kofi’s resignation to the public prior to this mayhem? As a lawmaker did you officially introduce your new PA to your constituents? You stated that, Kofi was replaced by Benjamin Kuffour-Bonsu since 2020,on what note did he assist you in preparing this current constituency delegates’ album?”
