Five people have been arrested in connection with the printing of fake GH¢200 and $100 notes, totalling GH¢2.3 million and $191,900, respectively.
The accused, who appeared before an Accra Circuit Court on Friday, are Shubham Sharma (General Manager); James Mozu Bonaparte (graphic designer); Prince Owusu Ahenkorah (photographer/video director); Jonathan Kwame Appiah and Solomon Adjetey Adjei (both graphic designers).
The five were jointly charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and were arrested at various locations in Accra.
Sharma, Bonaparte, and Ahenkorah are facing an additional charge of possession of forged notes, while Appiah and Adjei are charged with uttering forged notes.
The court, presided over by Mr. Samuel Bright Acquah, did not take their pleas and remanded them into lawful custody to reappear on July 3, 2025.
The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Wisdom Alorwu, requested that the accused be remanded pending further investigations.
Sources say the complainant is an Accra-based businessman (name withheld). The accused persons were picked up following intelligence received on June 16, 2025.
Sharma, the first accused, is alleged to have stolen $230,000 from the businessman’s bedroom safe after embezzling company funds. He allegedly replaced the stolen amount with counterfeit Ghana cedis and US dollars.
A search at the cash office of the company, located at Adabraka Industrial Area, uncovered fake GH¢200 notes totalling GH¢2,318,000 and $100 notes amounting to $191,900. Sharma is reported to have admitted that he kept the fake notes in the office.
Police investigations further revealed that Sharma paid Bonaparte GH¢25,000 for the counterfeit Ghana cedis and GH¢15,000 for the fake dollars. Bonaparte and Ahenkorah are said to have conspired to supply Sharma with the fake currency.
During a search, security personnel retrieved five bundles of fake GH¢200 notes from Ahenkorah. He later mentioned Appiah as his accomplice, stating that Appiah, who manages the printing press, supervised the printing of the fake currency.
Appiah subsequently led the police to arrest Adjei, who is alleged to have handed over the fake notes to Ahenkorah.
