Cape Coast, Feb. 8, GNA-The Scheme Manager of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Health Insurance, Mr. Reindorf Osei, has been granted a GH¢50,000 police inquiry bail and also ordered to report to the Central Regional Crime Officer, Mr. John Frederick Wilson.
According to Mr. Wilson, Mr.Osei was picked by the police last Friday February 5, for questioning and granted bail the same day after Dr. Gustav Cruickshank, the Chief Internal Auditor of the NHIA had reported an alleged embezzlement of over GH¢67,493 from the Scheme's account during an audit investigations by auditors from the National Health Insurance Authority on Friday.
In an interview with GNA on Monday, Mr. Wilson debunked reports that Osei had absconded following the detection of the alleged fraud and said he was still at post and had reported thrice to his office on Monday.
Mr. Wilson indicated that since Mr. Osei has not officially been implicated and since the auditing was on-going, it was appropriate that bail was granted to enable him carry out his official duties until the final audit report comes out.
He said Mr. Osei told the police it was true that he is about to travel to Paris for his graduation and that he was definitely coming back after the programme but the police had advised him to seek clearance from his employers.
Mr. Wilson told the GNA that Mr. Osei had expressed surprise about allegations made by an Accra daily that he has absconded after an audit team investigating the scheme had uncovered the deal.
When the GNA went to the offices of the Scheme this morning, the Manager was said to have reported to work but gone out, but further inquiries revealed that he was at the police station.
At the police station all efforts to speak to Osei failed as the GNA was told his phone which has been inundated with calls had gone low on power and therefore he had gone to recharge it.
On Monday, an Accra daily reported that drama ensued at the offices of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Health Insurance Scheme when midway through an audit exercise, the accountant of the Scheme, Osei Tutu Bempah allegedly sneaked out and absconded.
It further reported that the team discovered during the auditing exercise that a total amount of GH¢67,493.55 of the scheme's money had been embezzled by the accountant and that a huge sum out of the amount had also been lodged in his personal account.
The report said Mr. Osei upon interrogation admitted that the embezzlement was made possible through the forgery of his signature by the accountant but he could not give satisfactory answers as to why he signed a dubious reconciliation statement prepared by the accountant.
GNA
