A Tarkwa Circuit Court has sentenced a 34-year-old former field officer of the National Trust Holding Company (NTHC) Trustee, Comfort Asante, to five years’ imprisonment with hard labour after she was found guilty of stealing GH¢96,490 belonging to customers of the company.

Although Asante pleaded not guilty to charges of stealing and forgery, she admitted during investigations that she diverted the funds to settle a debt owed by her mother.

Delivering judgement, the presiding judge, Mrs Hathia Ama Manu, ruled that Asante’s actions were criminal and must serve as a deterrent to others.

How the Theft Was Uncovered

The prosecutor, Chief Superintendent of Police Alex Odonkor, told the court that the NTHC Trustee, a firm registered to manage pension schemes in Ghana, filed the complaint after receiving numerous reports from contributors between May 2 and 5, 2023.

As a field officer, Asante’s role involved educating the public, registering clients, collecting contributions for the Tier Three Pension Scheme (SSNIT Informal Scheme Product – SISP), updating customer passbooks, and electronically recording payments into the company’s system using an official mobile phone.

The system automatically generated receipt numbers and also sent SMS alerts to contributors confirming their payments.

However, the company began receiving complaints from customers who claimed they were not receiving confirmation messages despite making payments through Asante.

Upon reviewing their passbooks, NTHC detected discrepancies between the handwritten records and the official electronic records.

It was also discovered that the receipt numbers recorded by Asante did not match those generated by the company’s system.

Investigations and Conviction

Following an internal audit, NTHC confirmed that Asante had misappropriated GH¢96,490 from contributions made by 32 clients. A formal complaint was lodged with the police on May 17, 2023, leading to her arrest.

In her caution statement, Asante confessed to the offence. After a full trial, she was convicted and handed a five-year jail term with hard labour.