By: Audrey Raymonda John
An Egyptian national, Khaled Eid Mohamed Elshamy, Financial Director at Aid Society, testified in an alleged fraud case involving Abubakarr Adam Sillah, an accountant at DirectAid SL Ltd, accused of misappropriating over one billion leones from the company’s Vista Bank account.
Sillah, who reportedly jumped bail, was remanded to the male correctional facility in Freetown by Magistrate Mustapha Braima Jah of Pademba Road Court No. 1.
He was subsequently arraigned on 63 counts of larceny by servant, contrary to Section 17(1)(a) of the Larceny Act 1916. According to the indictments, between January and October 2022, Sillah allegedly misappropriated funds from the company’s account 066011383690202, designated for aid services. When the charges were read and explained, no plea was taken.
The prosecution, led by ASP Tommy Zaizer, presented the testimony of Elshamy, who stated that the complaint was initially lodged against Mohamed Ahmed Sillah, the Acting Country Director at the time. On 25 September 2022, while the suspect was working in Bo, the organization’s Financial Controller, Hamma Abdellahi, based in Kuwait, alerted him of irregularities involving Sillah.
Following the report, Elshamy instructed Sillah to return to the office. Upon reviewing the organization’s records, Elshamy allegedly discovered that Sillah had collected €84,525 (Eighty-Four Thousand Five Hundred and Twenty-Five Euros) from Vista Bank.
Elshamy testified that the funds were reportedly used for items such as rice, medicine, and prayer mats for mosques. However, receipts later found were from City Trading Company (CTC), a business dealing in electronics, phones, and pharmacy items, raising suspicion. The items on the receipts were allegedly purchased in Freetown from a dealer named Bibo Brown.
He added that the West Coast Regional Director traveled to Kenema to verify the receipts and investigate expenditures. After about one and a half months, the Regional Director reported that all receipts were fake. A team later joined the investigation, but Sillah was on leave at the time.
According to the testimony, when Sillah returned in June 2023, he allegedly admitted that the receipts were falsified to cover his expenditures. Following this revelation, the office terminated the employment of Ndajibo Nyegla, who had worked with the organization for five years. Upon termination, Sillah was reportedly paid Le 900,000 (Nine Hundred Thousand Old Leones).
Elshamy concluded that he was later instructed by the Head Office to make an official report on the matter.
The defendant, who was legally unrepresented, was asked to cross-examine the witness, but Magistrate Jah ordered his continued remand at the male correctional facility in Freetown. The matter has been adjourned to 19 March 2026.