SPECIAL AUDIT investigations have revealed that Sunshine Commodities Limited, a licensed cocoa buying company has defrauded the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) to the tune of ¢5,002,061,502.92 during the 2006/7 main crop season.

The company has since May this year been directed to make a refund and pay a penalty of ¢15,006,184,505.79 to the COCOBOD.

This is in accordance with section 3.18.2 of the Sanctions for Malpractices in the Internal Marketing of Cocoa under flying waybill offence which states that the LBC shall refund the amount collected from COCOBOD and in addition pay three times the amount involved as penalty.

As at July this year Sunshine Commodities was indebted to COCOBOD to the tune of ¢3,638,820,126.62.

The Chronicle gathered that Sunshine Commodities Limited had submitted about 15 false Cocoa Taken Over Receipts (CTOR) to COCOBOD for payment and claimed that it had evacuated cocoa worth ¢5 billion to the Port.

The documents (flying waybills) were, however, discovered to be false following which Sunshine Commodities was asked to refund the money.

It is claiming it used the money as seed money which was allocated to district officers of the company to purchase cocoa. The COCOBOD per its Deputy Chief Executive, Mr. C. B. Ntim in Charge of Operations, in a correspondence with reference number DCE/OPS/139/SCL/V.1/36, had cautioned the defaulting cocoa company to, as a matter of urgency, refund the monies or face a criminal charge.

Investigations by The Chronicle indicate that Sunshine Companies is trying to pass the buck to district officers, who have allegedly been influenced to take it upon themselves as owing the company that much and have signed an undertaking to that effect.

Those district officers who refused to sign the said undertaking have been suspended from the employment of the company.

They are Dauda Adu Poku, District Manager of Tepa/Mankranso, Isaac Kingsford Sarpong, Goaso District and Bismark Osei Bonsu of the Asempaneye District.

The affected are calling for investigations into the circumstances under which ¢5 billion of the tax payers' money was dubiously paid to Sunshine Commodities which money, it is believed, was misapplied having been shared among a group of people.

The attention of the Attorney General's Department has since November 5, 2007, been drawn to the alleged fraud.

Dauda Adu Poku has already filed a law suit at a Kumasi High Court against his former employer Sunshine Commodities Limited for recovery of various sums of money totaling ¢80.104,000.00.

Mr. Dauda Adu Poku, the plaintiff, is claiming ¢18 million in payment of monthly salaries of ¢1,500,000.00 for one year, operational expenses of ¢46,030,000.00, a commission of ¢16,074,000.00 and interest on the claims at the current bank rate as well as cost of summons from the defendant company per its managing director, Nana Kwame Boakye Yiadom.

In a statement of claim filed on October 19, 2007, the Plaintiff averred that the Defendant had willfully refused to pay his monthly salary since July 2006 and a commission of ¢9,000 per each of the 1,786 bags of cocoa purchased for the defendant company.

He stated that the conduct of the defendant was illegal and unlawful and that the company had no defence to the plaintiff's reliefs being sought in court.

Meanwhile, the plaintiff has petitioned the law office against his arrest by the Mankranso police on false charges brought against him.

Sunshine Commodities has, in turn, leveled charges of embezzlement against the plaintiff who denies same with documents. He said the action was an afterthought.

The Chronicle has gathered also that the Attorney General's Department in Kumasi has called for the docket for study following a petition.

The management of Sunshine Commodities has expressed mistrust in the COCOBOD for making its indebtedness public and asked that the financial standings and indebtedness or otherwise of all other 18 or more LBC's be made public.

Reacting to a correspondence of July 9, 2007, Sunshine Commodities, per its managing director, urged the COCOBOD to revise its stance against the company by lifting the suspension imposed on it, promising that it (Sunshine Commodities) would not do anything or engage in any activity that would impact negatively on the cocoa industry.

Meanwhile, the COCOBOD has revoked the operational licence of Sunshine Commodities Limited, a licensed cocoa buying company (LBC).

The revocation of the licence takes effective from September this year as a result of which the company and all its directors have been banned from transacting any cocoa business in Ghana.

The COCOBOD has cautioned members of the public not to transact business with Sunshine Commodities on its behalf or risk the consequences.