A gold dealership firm, Rafmoh Gold Limited, and five others have been granted bail by the High Court in Accra after pleading not guilty to their alleged involvement in the smuggling of 100kg of gold valued at GHC100M.
The six have each been granted bail in the sum of GHC50 million with two sureties, one of whom is to be justified. This pegged the combined bail sum of the six at GHC300M.
Rafmoh Gold Limited, the company, which is the first accused (A1), was charged together with Abdul Karim (A3), Abdul Razak Seidu (A4), Bernard Nkrumah (A5), Ibrahim Aremeyaw (A6), and Sadique Abubakari (A7).
The second accused person, Muhammed Afsah Puthalan, is currently at large.
They have all been charged together with two counts of conspiracy to smuggle gold and transportation of gold without the necessary documentation and authorization, contrary to Section 23(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and Section 66(1)(b) of the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140).
Rafmoh Gold Limited, Muhammed Afsah Puthalan (at large), and Abdul Karim are facing a separate charge of smuggling gold out of Ghana, contrary to Section 65(1) of the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140).
While Abdul Razak Seidu pleaded not guilty to the transportation of gold without documentation and authorization, contrary to Section 66(1)(b) of the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), Bernard Nkrumah denied the charge of failure to comply with Ghana Gold Board (“GoldBod”) Tier 2 License, contrary to Section 63(1)(c) of the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140).
Rafmoh Gold Limited, Muhammed Afsah Puthalan (at large), Abdul Karim, and Sadique Abubakari are separately charged with buying gold from persons in the Republic of Ghana without a license issued by the Ghana Gold Board (“GoldBod”), contrary to Section 63(1)(f) and 26(5) of the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140).
Rafmoh Gold Limited and Abdul Karim have also denied the charge of attempting to commit a crime, namely smuggling gold out of the Republic of Ghana, contrary to Section 18(2) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and Section 65(1) of the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140).
Deputy Attorney General Dr. Justice Srem-Sai led a team of state prosecutors to court on Thursday, while the defense was led by Paul Asibi Abariga.
Abdul Karim (A3) and Sadique Abubakari (A7), who were previously on the run, reported themselves and had their pleas taken. The court, presided over by Justice Ruby Aryeetey, then admitted them to bail in the same bail terms as the others.
The case has been adjourned to November 6, 2025.
Brief facts
It was the case of the prosecution that the complainants are officers of the Ghana Gold Board (“GoldBod”) Taskforce.
The GoldBod, it said, is the statutory body established under the Ghana Gold Board Act, 2025 (Act 1140), with the mandate to regulate, license, and monitor the purchase, sale, transportation, refining, assaying, and export of gold in Ghana.
It added that under the Act, it is an offense for any person or entity to engage in gold trading or transportation without the requisite license from the GoldBod.
The prosecution narrated that pursuant to this mandate, the GoldBod established a task force to enforce compliance and combat illegal gold smuggling.
About the Accused
The prosecution stated that the first accused, Rafmoh Gold Ltd (A1), is a limited liability company registered under the laws of the Republic of Ghana, with its principal place of business in Tse Addo, Accra.
It said its business activities include gold refinery, export, and purchase of gold. While the second accused person, Muhammed Afsah Puthalan (A2), currently at large, is an Indian national and doubles as the accountant of A1 (Rafmoh Gold Ltd) and manages its gold trading business in Ghana.
The third accused, Abdul Karim (A3), the prosecution said, is an account officer in the employ of A1 (Rafmoh Gold Ltd) and works closely with A2 (Muhammed Afsah Puthalan).
The fourth accused, Abdul Razak Seidu (A4), it said, is a courier procured by A3 (Abdul Karim) to collect gold from licensed buyers for onward delivery to A2 (Muhammed Afsah Puthalan) and A3 (Abdul Karim) in Accra.
The fifth accused, Bernard Nkrumah (A5), is a licensed Tier 2 gold buyer for GoldBod, operating under the name NK Benark Enterprise.
The sixth accused, Ibrahim Aremeyaw (A6), is an employee of A1. The seventh accused, Sadique Abubakari (A7), is a business associate of A1 and the brother of A3.
Intelligence, surveillance
The prosecution told the court that intelligence gathered by the investigators disclosed that A5 had a long-standing gold supply relationship with A1, which began years before the enactment of Act 1140.
It said upon the coming into force of the new law, A5 initially stopped supplying gold to A1. A5 subsequently resumed his gold supply to A1 between June and August 2025, after persistent demands from A1 and its officers, despite knowing that A1 did not hold any valid gold trading license from the GoldBod.
It said A5, during interrogation, admitted that, in addition to funds received from GoldBod to purchase gold for its aggregator, he also received large sums of money from A2 through mobile money transfers, which he used to buy gold and deliver the same to A1 through intermediaries, including A2, A3, and A4.
Tarkwa-Winneba-Accra journey
On August 26, 2025, the GoldBod Taskforce gathered intelligence that a syndicate was transporting gold from Tarkwa to Accra for onward smuggling out of Ghana. Acting on the information, the task force mounted surveillance on the Tarkwa-Accra route.
At about 1:00 a.m. on August 27, 2025, the task force intercepted a Toyota Hiace commercial vehicle with registration number AW 9889-21 at Winneba Junction.
A4, who was on board the Toyota Hiace vehicle, was arrested. He was in possession of a backpack containing three wrapped yellowish substances, which were later tested and confirmed at the GoldBod Assay Laboratory to be gold with a net weight of 8.2 kilograms, valued at approximately GHC10.2 million.
Contacts via WhatsApp
The prosecution added that investigation so far disclosed that on several occasions, A4 transported gold from Tarkwa to Accra under the instructions of A3, who provided him with contacts via WhatsApp from A2.
A4, in his investigation caution statement dated August 28, 2025, indicated that he received gold either directly from A5 or from A5’s driver, Joseph Acquah alias Kobi, for delivery in Accra.
A4 further, admitted that he had made several similar trips in the 20 days preceding his arrest and was paid a fee of GHC500 for each trip.
He further stated that the gold was always meant for A1, but he supplied it through A2 and A3. A5, under interrogation, corroborated A4’s statements that he supplied gold of varied quantities to A1 through A2 and A3, using couriers like A4.
He further indicated that between July and August 2025, he purchased and supplied approximately 100 kilograms of gold valued at about GHC100 million to A1 through A2 and A3, using A4 and other couriers.
He further confirmed receiving large sums of money, ranging from GHC10 million to GHC30 million on different occasions, through mobile money transfers from A1 and A2.
Investigation also revealed that A6 and A7 assisted A2 and A3 in the purchase and transportation of gold, with the ultimate objective of smuggling the gold outside Ghana.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
