A former President of the Ghana Auctioneers Association (GAA), Calvis Okine, is alleged to have been involved in countless fraudulent activities since his exit from office in 2017.

He is alleged to have single-handedly founded the “Ghana Institute of Auctioneers (GIA)” which he is said to have used to illegally take money from prospective members wanting licenses.

To make matters worse, Mr Okine is also alleged to have used fake documents to facilitate the registration of his Institute.

Reports say many young Ghanaians enrolled in Mr Okine’s GIA where he charged each candidate an amount of GH¢1,500 for licensure examination.

The said amount was paid into the Kaneshie Branch of the Agriculture Development Bank (ADB) Bank Ltd, with the account name, Ghana Institute of Auctioneers and the account number, 1000107434801.

The said amount per a publication in the daily graphic on July 16, 2018, was to cover the cost of the examination, course materials, snack and lunch.

The angry examinees only found out about the scheme and have since been looking for Mr Okine to retrieve their money.

Mr Okine, our sources say, also took GH¢400.00 from some people in the name of publishing a list of its members in good standing even though the publication of a list of auctioneers in good standing remains the preserve of the Auctioneers Registration Board at the Ministry of the Interior and Chaired by the Deputy Minister.

When the activities of Mr Okine came to the attention of the Ministry of Interior, it issued a disclaimer, disassociating the Ministry from his actions and that of the GIA, indicating that such an Institute was not recognised and certified by the National Accreditation Board and the Auctioneers Registration Board, under the Ministry of the Interior, which is solely mandated by Auction Sales Act, 1989 (PNDCL 230) to register and license auctioneers in Ghana.

Our checks reveal that the affected students have proceeded to petition the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department at the Police Headquarters in Accra, to cause and initiate investigations into the activities of Mr Okine.

When Mr Okine was called to respond to the allegations against him, he neither picked his calls nor reply to a text message forwarded to him.

When some members of the GAA were reached for their reactions, one member said it was time to now “open the can of worms” on the happenings at the (GIA) and actions of Mr Okine in order to forestall further disgrace.

The Ghana Auctioneers Association is the solely Registered Professional body, under the Auctioneers Registration Board at the Ministry of Interior with accreditation from the National Accreditation Board (NAB) with the basic responsibility to regulate Professional Auctioneers in Ghana for which Mr Calvis Okine was the President until sometime in 2017.