Accra, July 7, GNA - An Accra Fast Track High Court on Friday sentenced a Former Head of the Computer Section at the Controller and Accountant General's Department (CAG), Attah Kofi Amenuvor to five years' imprisonment with hard labour for conspiring and stealing a total of 2.6 billion cedis belonging to the State.

The money was paid through the West Mamprusi Community Bank. Amenuvor was found guilty on 18 counts of forgery and 18 counts of possessing forged documents, namely cheques.

His accomplices Prince Mahama Sugri, an Accountant at the West Mamprusi Community Bank and Mohammed Amudah, an Accounts Officer of the GES at Yendi, who were charged with conspiracy pleaded guilty. Sugri and Amudah began refunding their share estimated at 100 million cedis each to the State. Amenuvor's share was 2.4 billion cedis.

Sugri, however, passed away during the trial while Amudah was used as prosecution witness in the case. The Court ordered Amenuvor to refund to the State the amount after serving his jail term.

Handing down the sentence, the Presiding Judge, Mr Justice Yaw Appau expressed regret over the high rate at which government money was being siphoned saying: "I find this kind of offence more grievous than armed robbery.

"These kinds of crimes are going on with regard to salaries and there is the need to halt such acts."

According to the Prosecution, the accused persons forged signatures on 18 cheques and succeeded in withdrawing the money between January 2000 and July 2001, as salaries of staff of the GES in the Northern; Upper East and Upper West Regions.

The Prosecution said the Auditor-General's Department detected some irregularities in the preparation of teachers' salaries. The Prosecution said the method of operation was that the three men prepared and inflated duplicate cheques alongside the original ones and later discarded the original ones.

The original cheques bearing all the details of the cheques recovered from the Bank of Ghana were saved on a diskette at the Computer Section of the Controller and Accountant General's Department.

The original cheques authorised payment of lesser amounts than the parallel duplicate cheques recovered from the Bank of Ghana. The Computer Section printed original cheques for beneficiaries, but the original cheques were stepped down at the Mamprusi Community Bank and the duplicate presented for withdrawal. The Prosecution said Amuda usually met Amenuvor at the State Transport Company yard in Accra to hand over the excess money. Mr Anthony Gyambiby, Chief State Attorney, represented the State.