Court grants GH¢200,000 bail to two over alleged maize fraud

A business deal for the supply of maize to a poultry farm at Asutuare has ended up before an Accra Circuit Court, with two men accused of defrauding a commodity trader of goods worth GH¢888,380.

Isaac Danso, 39, a freight forwarder also known as Oheneba, and Desmond Appiah, 50, a businessman, have both denied conspiring to defraud entrepreneur and commodity trader Ibrahim Gomna.

The court granted each of them bail in the sum of GH¢200,000 with three sureties.

One surety for each accused person must be justified with landed property.

The case has been adjourned to June 17, 2026, for a case management conference.

According to the prosecution, the dispute began in February 2025 when the two accused persons allegedly introduced themselves to Mr Gomna as commodity traders.

Desmond Appiah is said to have told the complainant that he had clients who needed maize for a poultry farm.

A contract was then signed for the supply of 4,132 bags of maize at GH¢215 per 50kg bag.

Prosecutors say the maize was delivered to Merep West Farms at Asutuare.

However, the accused persons allegedly sold each bag for GH¢130, collected the money and failed to account fully to the complainant.

Chief Inspector Clement Jerry Acquah told the court that the two later went into hiding after the transaction.

They were arrested following a police complaint.

The defence argued that the matter was commercial in nature and not criminal.

Counsel for the accused persons said GH¢170,000 had already been refunded from the proceeds of the sale.

He also told the court that the accused persons have fixed places of residence, are breadwinners, and have credible sureties to support their bail application.

The court directed the prosecution to file and serve all relevant documents before the next hearing.