30-year-old woman in court for stealing $1,600 at forex bureau

A 30-year-old Nigerien woman, who allegedly connived with two other foreign nationals to steal $1,600 from a cashier, at a forex bureau, at the Accra Mall, ap­peared before the Adentan Circuit Court.

Raquia Mohammed Rashida, charged with abetment of crime, namely stealing, has pleaded not guilty.

Rashida’s accomplices, whose names were given as Bashir Mahmoud Ramzy, aka Waleed Mahamoud, and Yasmin Sadiq Ebrahim, are at large.

The court presided over by Mrs Sedinam Awo Balokah granted GH¢50,000 bail with one surety to Rashida.


Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Maxwell Lanyo said the com­plainant, Bernard Sante Appiah, was a cashier at a forex bureau (name withheld) at the Accra Mall Shopping Centre.

Prosecution said Rashida, was a housewife residing at Spintex, Accra.

Chief Inspector Lanyo said Rashida gave her unregistered Kia Optima blue-black colour with DV plate number 7734-23, to Bashir Mahmoud Ramzy or Waleed Mohamoud Ramzy, and Yasmin Sadiq Ebrahim, now at large.

Prosecution said the two foreign nationals were driven to the Accra Mall for shopping.

Chief Inspector Lanyo said the two went to the Forex Bureau at the Mall to change money and requested for ‘2017-hundred-dol­lar bill.’

The prosecution said the ca­shier, sampled a bundle of dollars and asked them, to sort the notes out while he (complainant) attend­ed to another customer.

Chief Inspector Lanyo said the male suspect, flipped some of the dollar notes into his pocket and he and another female suspect left the shop.

The prosecution said soon after they left, the cashier detected the bundle of notes he gave out to be sorted was short of $1,600.

The prosecutor said the com­plainant chased the suspects, but they joined a waiting Kia Optima vehicle at the parking lot and sped off.

According to the prosecution, the complainant held the rear of the passenger door of the car in an attempt to stop them, but the driver sped off, bumping into other cars at the parking lot and ram­ming into the Exit gate.

Ac­cording to Chief Inspector Lanyo, the whole episode was captured on CCTV fixed at the mall.

The court heard that Rashida was arrested following a tip off by the police at Spintex, and the vehicle was retrieved.

Chief Inspector Lanyo said the car was found to have been resprayed in blue-black colour and the DV plate hidden in the car.

He said Rashida was asked to name the sprayer, but she re­fused, and refunded $1,600 to the police