A 34-year-old legal practitioner, Divine Effah-Dartey, has appeared before an Accra Circuit Court over allegations that he played a role in a fraudulent excavator transaction that allegedly defrauded a businessman of GH¢800,000.

The accused lawyer is said to have assisted two other suspects to mislead a buyer into paying part of the purchase price for an excavator that did not belong to the sellers.

Effah-Dartey has pleaded not guilty to a charge of abetment of defrauding by false pretences. The court granted him police enquiry bail after an application was made on his behalf by his father, retired naval officer Captain Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey.

Two other accused persons were also before the court: Mawuli Awadzi Amenyo, a 49-year-old carpenter, and Jiang Tao, a warehouse manager.

Amenyo, who faces charges of conspiracy and defrauding by false pretences, denied the allegations and was admitted to bail in the sum of GH¢400,000 with two sureties, one of whom must be justified. Jiang Tao, charged with abetment, was also granted police enquiry bail.

A fourth suspect, identified as Rishan Mahanta, is currently at large and is additionally accused of forgery.

Presiding judge Evelyn Asamoah adjourned the case to January 23, 2026. Presenting the prosecution’s case, Detective Chief Inspector Abel Amanie told the court that the complainant, Kofi Boateng, a businessman based in Asankragwa in the Western Region, was looking to purchase an excavator for commercial rental purposes.

According to the prosecution, Boateng was introduced in September 2025 to Amenyo, who subsequently linked him to Mahanta, described as an excavator importer operating in Accra.

On October 1, 2025, Boateng travelled to Accra to inspect the equipment and was taken to the premises of Caitec Delta Limited, where Mahanta allegedly presented several excavators as his own. With assistance from Jiang Tao, one of the machines was reportedly tested despite restrictions on access to the facility.

After agreeing to buy a Sany hydraulic excavator valued at GH¢1.7 million, Boateng paid GH¢800,000 as an initial instalment.

He was then taken to a law firm in Kaneshie, where Effah-Dartey, allegedly introduced as Mahanta’s lawyer, received the cash, issued a receipt and provided an Import Declaration Form said to be forged and purportedly issued by the Ghana Revenue Authority.

Subsequent investigations revealed that the excavator did not belong to the accused persons and that Mahanta was not a registered client of the law firm. Police say efforts are ongoing to arrest Mahanta as investigations continue.