Indian National Jailed for Possessing Fake Currency in Accra

Accra: Shubham Sharma, an Indian national, has been sentenced to five years in prison by an Accra Circuit Court for possessing counterfeit foreign and local currencies. Sharma, who worked as a manager, was found with fake GHS200 notes amounting to GHS1,976,000 and counterfeit US$100 notes totaling US$191,900. He was accused of replacing his employer's genuine cash with forged notes. According to Ghana Web, the prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Wisdom Alorwu, stated that the complainant, a businessman and chief executive of a company producing air fresheners, reported that Sharma had swapped legitimate money kept by the company with counterfeit currency. Presiding judge Joseph Yennuban Kunsong sentenced Sharma to four years' imprisonment for possessing fake Ghana cedi notes and five years for holding counterfeit foreign currency. The sentences will run concurrently. The court noted that Sharma had already spent over nine months in custody prior to the ruling. It also directed officials from the Ghana Polic e Service, the Bank of Ghana, and the court registrar to ensure the destruction of the seized counterfeit notes. Furthermore, the court ordered that Sharma be deported after completing his prison term. Prosecutors revealed that investigations showed Sharma, responsible for receiving and keeping the company's cash, allegedly broke into his employer's safe while the businessman was traveling abroad and replaced genuine US dollars with fake notes. Additional checks within the company uncovered that large amounts of Ghana cedis had also been substituted with counterfeit GHS200 notes. The Bank of Ghana later confirmed that the recovered currency notes were forged. During police investigations, Sharma admitted that the fake notes had been kept in the company's office.