By: Audrey Raymonda John
The high-profile case of alleged embezzlement involving Ishmael Hortons Jalloh, a 39-year-old businessman, continued before Magistrate John Manso Fornah at Pademba Road Court No. 2.
Jalloh faces one count of Larceny by Servant, contrary to Section 17 (1) (a) of the Larceny Act 1916.
According to the police charge sheet, the alleged crime took place between 5th September 2022 and November 2024 at the Ecobank Head Office in Freetown. The prosecution alleges that Jalloh, while employed as a Card Operations Officer at Ecobank Sierra Leone Limited, stole the sum of Nine Hundred and Eighty-One Thousand, Two Hundred and Sixty-Eight Leones and Thirty-Eight Cents (Le 981,268.38) in brand-new notes.
It is alleged that he transferred the money from the Ecobank General Ledger and deposited it into a “Car Tech” Account (Number: 6340005879). The funds were subsequently withdrawn by the account owner, Vandi Kallon, upon Jalloh’s instructions. The money is stated to be the property of Ecobank Sierra Leone Limited.
After the charge was read and explained to the defendant, no plea was taken.
The prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police Dialla Wellington, presented the first witness, Osman David Kamara. Kamara, a banker and the Head of Internal Audit at Ecobank Freetown, testified that his role involves conducting independent audits and investigations to evaluate the bank’s operations and internal controls.
Kamara stated that he recognized the accused, who was a Card Operations Officer at the bank. He explained that the bank discovered fraudulent transfers to a specific account named “Kaitech Investment Services” (Account Number: 6340005879), which were withdrawn by the account owner, Vandi Kallon.
He detailed that the defendant’s duties included investigating refunds to ensure they were meant for the correct customers. These refund files, received in an Excel sheet from the group switch team, required the defendant to access a platform and use card numbers to identify the correct customer accounts.
However, Kamara revealed that this was not done properly. The defendant allegedly included account numbers for which the refunds were not intended. The investigation uncovered that two additional customers—Alhaji Rogers (Account Number: 6340033306) and Isata Jalloh (Account Number: 6340011600)—received fraudulent transfers.
The total amount involved in these fraudulent activities was Le 1,777,724.95, which is significantly higher than the initial sum reported to the police. Kamara confirmed that Vandi Kallon was arrested and handed over to the police. The bank has not yet recovered any of the stolen funds. The witness’s statement to the police was tendered in court and marked as Exhibit C1-6.
Defense counsel J. B. Massaquio applied for bail for the accused, stating that he had reliable sureties and would not abscond. He reminded the court that his client had been granted bail at the police station and had always appeared for his court dates. The application was made pursuant to Section 79 (2) and (3) of the Criminal Procedure Act of 1916.
Magistrate Fornah agreed to continue the existing bail for the accused. The matter was adjourned to 6th October 2025 for the continuation of the trial.