MTN, e-Crime Bureau Trains Judges to Expedite Prosecution of Mobile Money Fraudsters

The MTN in collaboration with e-Crime Bureau has deepened the capacity of Judges to enable them speed up the prosecution of Mobile Money fraudsters.

The hard-working Judges were enlightened on Mobile Money scam in order to help them stamp out the miscreants who are undermining the mobile money business in the country.

Justice of the Appeal Court, Justice L.L. Mensah JA noted that apart from criminal prosecution, civil action can be instituted against individuals and companies who engage in those fraudulent practices.

He entreats Lordships, Honours and Worships to give priority to the prosecution of those who are entangled in the mobile money fraud net.

Justice Mensah indicated that the prosecution of the criminals must be commensurate with the speed with which they siphon monies from their victims.

“In other words, as I would touch hereafter the prosecution must be fast, and effective in order to leave no room to the perpetrators of the cyber fraud that both the MTN and the Judiciary mean business,” he posited.

Justice Mensah indicated that the National Cyber Security Centre which was set up to co-ordinate cyber security issues in the country must liaise with other stakeholders in the security space to deal firmly with the mobile money fraudsters.

“Just as the MTN has proved that it is a leader in the market share of its operability, of both the mobile phone and the mobile money, it must also be a leader in taking the challenge to be at the forefront of leading the prosecution and conviction of the criminals,” he intimated.

The Appeal Court judge said every single conviction if widely reported would put the fear of God into the offenders, and assure the international community that this country is safe from mobile fraud.

According to him, the problems with mobile money fraud are more serious because of the fact that it covers a huge space. It includes the intellectuals, the semi-literates and above all the rural folks.

“I can say that apart from the presence of the mobile phone operability itself which covers a huge chunk of the country, the mobile money transaction is so popular that there is hardly any district in the country where its presence is not felt,” he opined.

Justice Mensah added that the fact that it is so widely spread makes the fraudsters to re-engineer their game to beat the high security that the MTN employ to minimize the fraud.

He noted that although the Judiciary is being sensitized to have the capacity to prosecute the fraudsters, the operators of the facility itself, the MTN should use its huge financial resources to liaise with the Ministry of Communications, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), the National Cyber Security Centre, Radio and TV and other stakeholders to educate the public to be aware of the dangers posed by the mobile money fraudsters.

“When it comes to the prosecution, the Judiciary cannot prosecute without effective or speedy investigation by the police,” Justice Mensah stated.

He emphasized that if MTN wants to have speedy and effective prosecution of the criminals, adequate resources should be channeled to the police and other stakeholders to train capable and dedicated investigators.

“It is said that desperate diseases need desperate remedies. We need collective effort and the will to stop the menace of the mobile fraud or at least minimize it,” the Appeal Court judge posited.

The General Manager of Mobile Money at MTN, Mr. Eli Hini said the purpose of the training workshop is to help expedite the prosecution of the Mobile Money fraudsters.

“It is in this regards, we are bringing the judiciary on board in order to enlighten them with the requisite information and also by schooling them on the modus operandi of these perpetrators,” he stated.

Mr. Eli Hini noted that MTN will strike a bond with the judiciary in order to help safe guard the system against cyber miscreants.

The Business Operations Manager e-Crime Bureau, Mr. Philip Danquah Debrah, noted that there was the need for MTN to bring all the players to understand the invasive nature of the mobile money fraud in Ghana.

He indicated that the decision to focus on the Judiciary was to help them understand the modus operandi of the criminals regarding mobile money fraud.

Mr. Danquah Debrah said they have gathered a lot of intelligence as to how the criminals operate adding, the training would go a long way to ensure the effective prosecution of these mobile money fraudsters in the country.