By: Audrey Raymonda John
Ibrahim Peter Kamara, a 31-year-old businessman, appeared before Magistrate John Manso Fornah of Pademba Road Court No. 2 in Freetown on two charges: conspiracy to defraud, contrary to the law, and larceny by servant, contrary to Section 17(1)(a) of the Larceny Act 1916.
According to the particulars of the offence, between Sunday, February 23, 2025, and Wednesday, March 25, 2025, at Access Bank Sierra Leone Limited on Siaka Stevens Street and Lightfoot Boston Street in Freetown, the defendant allegedly conspired with other persons unknown to defraud Access Bank Sierra Leone Limited.
Count two further states that, during the same period, Kamara, acting as an agent for Orange Mobile Money, part of Orange Mobile Finance Limited, used the Orange Money Wallet-to-Bank transaction platform to steal a total of two million, seven hundred and fifty-two thousand, one hundred and twenty-nine Leones (Le 2,752,129) from the bank account number 0010160000326. This account was operated by Orange Mobile Finance Limited.
When the charges were read and explained to the defendant, he did not enter a plea.
Defense Counsel D.J. Lavallie Esq. informed the court that he wished to cross-examine several of the prosecution’s witnesses after reviewing the court bundle. He began with Moussa Sambou, one of the prosecution witnesses, and stated that under the new Criminal Procedure Act 2024, all witnesses had taken oaths at the police station, leaving the defense to cross-examine those they were not satisfied with.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Joan M. S. Bull Esq. led the first prosecution witness, Moussa Sambou, who is an Information Technology (IT) Auditor at Access Bank. Sambou explained that his role includes ensuring the bank’s IT infrastructure, including data centers, disaster recovery systems, applications, and networks, are functioning as required by internal policies and international best practices.
Sambou confirmed that Access Bank had been working with Orange Money since 2019 and that it was Orange Money that alerted the bank to suspicious withdrawals. He explained the process for opening an Orange Money account through the bank, which involves meeting all standard conditions, such as providing a valid identity card, passport photos, a utility bill for proof of residence, and the necessary account opening forms.
Regarding the defendant, Sambou explained that the link between the defendant’s bank account and Orange Money wallet could not be confirmed during their investigation. He also clarified that the transaction process allows agents to transfer money between their wallets and bank accounts using a short code. However, he noted that the technical investigation into the root cause of the suspicious withdrawals had not yet been concluded. Although the financial aspect of the investigation had been resolved, the technical issue whether the transactions were a result of a fault in the bank’s system or in Orange Money’s system was still pending.
Sambou concluded his testimony by stating that a committee was still investigating the matter from both a technical and financial perspective.
Meanwhile, Magistrate Fornah denied the defendant’s bail application, citing the seriousness of the charges. The defendant was remanded, and the matter was adjourned to November 4, 2025.