Simply Explosive! Executive Fraud: MASLOC Boss Cited In ₵5Billion Scandal - Part 1
Highly confidential documents emanating from the office of the Microfinance And Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) and intercepted by ModernGhana point to a grand executive fraud involving the Chief Executive Officer, (CEO ) Madam Bertha Sogah.
The MASLOC Boss is alleged to be involved in a GH₵500,000 (Five Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis) which is ₵5Billion Old Cedis, deal.
ModernGhana can authoritatively report that MASLOC, a body responsible for implementing Government of Ghana's microfinance programmes targeted at reducing poverty, creating jobs and wealth have now been turned into a safe haven for high profile money laundering under the watch of Madam Bertha Sogah.
Meanwhile, the Public Relations Office of MASLOC led by one Mustapha when contacted declined to comment on the issue.
“This issue is presently being handled by lawyers of our CEO, so we have been ordered not to comment on the issue,” Mustapha told ModernGhana.
Bare facts in the said documents titled “FOR YOUR EYES ONLY: CONFIDENTIAL REPORT INVESTIGATION INTO MALPRACTICES, CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND FRAUDULENT ACTIVITIES BY CEO OF MASLOC,” signed by a top security operative, presently in the possession of ModernGhana revealed that Madam Bertha Sogah took undue advantage of her position as the CEO of MASLOC and developed a fraudulent system to enable her divert GH₵500,000 funds belonging to MASLOC directly into AMISGOLD MICROFINANCE SERVICE LTD., a savings and loans company belonging to her husband.
In-depth investigations also showed that in August 2012, she wrote a cheque with the no. 359718 for an amount of GH₵500,000 to AMISGOLD MICROFINANCE SERVICE LTD.
ModernGhana learned that this cheque was cleared on MASLOC Stamp Duty Account at the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) Head Office, Accra on 24th August, 2012.
Following this fraudulent diversion of funds, the money allowed AMISGOLD MICROFINANCE SERVICE LTD., to commence operations by giving out loans to its clients.
What is more, records at the Registrar-General's Department further revealed that Mr. Fule Badoe owned AMISGOLD but transferred ownership with all his 6,000 shares to Prof. Dotsevi Sogah, who happens to be the current owner.
Fule Badoe is the son of the CEO, Madam Bertha Ansah Djan, who is now Mrs. Bertha Sogah while Prof. Dotsevi Sogah, who is the new sole owner of AMISGOLD, is the CEO's Husband.
According to the reports, deep probing established a clear case of conflict of interest and diversion of state funds into private pockets, in addition, it represents a case of professional stealing by people in such important institutions like MASLOC, which was set up by Government to provide financial assistance to small-scale business enterprises.
A top source close to MASLOC however, told ModernGhana that every year government provides budgetary allocation to MASLOC to be disbursed as loans to small-scale business men and women, as a means of reducing poverty in our society.
The source indicated that there have however been several complaints especially during disbursements, from these ordinary business people and some party members whose loan applications had been approved by MASLOC but the applicants failed to receive their funds on time or in some cases, still do not receive their loans.