A Lebanese national who was given a five-year prison term for fraud has been the target of a manhunt by the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO).
After being probed for major offenses, Naji Khalil was arraigned on August 5, 2020, before Accra Circuit Court 4, which is presided over by His Honor M.E. Essandoh.
At the time of the inquiry, the accused was a part of a notorious international organized crime gang that also included Tony Michaelis, Abraham Faouri, and Nabil Zayani, all of whom are from Jordan.
They were accused of conspiring to commit fraud by false pretense, committing fraud by false pretense, joining an organized crime group, and conspiring to commit a felony, specifically money laundering.
Naji Khalil received a five-year sentence with hard labor from His Honor M. E. Essandoh on June 22, 2022, for two counts of conspiring to defraud by false pretense and defrauding by false pretense.
Because the defendant skipped bail during the trial and the court issued a bench warrant for his arrest, the case was conducted in absentia.
The three (3) further defendants were not present to enter pleas since they were still at large at the time of the court activity.
Therefore, EOCO has made a public call for support in order to apprehend the aforementioned convict and ensure that he serves his just jail sentences.
Facts of the case
In April 2019, the victim Dr Khadidja Katir, an Algerian national, reported to EOCO and alleged that she had been defrauded by an organised crime group based in Ghana comprising four (4) suspects Naji Khalil, Nabil Zayani, Abraham Faouri and Tony Michaelis to the tune of USD138,000.
This was done under the pretext of airlifting ‘rough crystals’ worth USD 4 billion to her in Malta.
Following several telephone calls after the victim had transferred the money, the accused person refused to pick up calls from her. However, on one occasion, when they finally picked up her call, they threatened to kill her if she ever set foot in Ghana.
Despite the threats, the victim Dr Khadidja Katir arrived in Ghana where she lodged a complaint at EOCO for investigation.
Investigations confirmed that the suspects are members of an international organised crime syndicate that defrauds members of the unsuspecting public.
