Ghanaian PhD student arrested by Interpol for alleged fraud

• He was withdrawn from his PhD studies following allegations of fraud

• He was forced to resign from his student leadership position

Maxwell Nelson Acquah, a Ghanaian student leader at Stirling University in the UK, has been arrested by Interpol for serial investment and other alleged fraud deals running into thousands of pounds sterling and cedis.

Following the controversies, Acquah was forced to resign from his position as the Student Union President after being in office for two months. Stirling University, on the other hand, withdrew him from his studies at the university.

According to Mynewsgh report sighted by GhanaWeb, some colleagues of Maxwell Nelson Acquah who made attempts to get him arrested after he had lured them to invest with him prove futile.

The students reported Acquah to both authorities of the university as well as the law enforcement agencies in both Ghana and the UK.

Some of the students indicated that, Acquah had convinced them to invest in vegetable and pig farming investment schemes which he promised them huge returns but it turned out to be a scam.

The report alleged, “while carrying himself out as a pig farmer inviting his friends to invest with him, police investigations revealed he has been living off such dubious schemes for years after pictures of him in handcuff at Koforidua Police Station was shared by one of his victims who got him arrested in the early days of his schemes. Had his latest victims conducted basic due diligence, they wouldn’t have fallen victims.

“After taking a victim’s money for the supposed pig farm investment, as part of his modus operandi, Maxwell Nelson Acquah would usually cut ties with his victims after a while by blocking them through all possible channels of reaching him.

“In the case of one victim, after Nelson Acquah evaded arrest and refused to answer several calls and messages, the victim lodged a police complaint.

“Upon a tip-off that he (Nelson Acquah) was in Ghana to marry his current wife (whose details are withheld for now) armed police detectives ambushed and arrested him at his wedding in a suburb of Adenta. Knowing his victims could come after him, Nelson Acquah had allegedly publicized different locations for the marriage to mislead police but police detectives used the wife to be’s network to locate the venue and surrounded it waiting for his arrival.

“He was however granted ‘the grace’ of not being handcuffed in front of his loved ones.”

The report further stated that Acquah was arrested and detained by Interpol at the Kotoka International Airport when he attempted to leave the country without notifying law enforcement in line with his bail and a warrant which declared him wanted was placed on him.

The report further stated that, many of the victims who had had deals with Maxwell Nelson Acquah in Ghana also lodged various reports to police at Odorkor, Kofordua, Taifa and Airport Police Stations.

“Before his attempt to bolt from the country through KIA, Acquah had entered into a payment plan with one of his victims but reneged on same while neglecting all other victims.

“In the case of one of his victims, Acquah took in excess of £12,000 as an investment in a shoe deal that turned out to be another scheme, which amount he failed to refund after threatening his victim for speaking out in a WhatsApp group.

“Back in Ghana, Maxwell Nelson Acquah has since started advertising his Pig Farming ‘success story’ once again which police detectives believe is another ultimate bid to lure his next batch of victims as he plots to leave the country.”

“Maxwell Nelson Acquah also has reportedly taken several thousands of Pounds from his fellow students, some under the promise of offering them admissions to the University as was the case of one of his victims for whom he forged a Manchester University Letter offering Admission.

“On his PhD withdrawal and sack from Stirling University, the school’s management believes what Maxwell Nelson Acquah did was not only a violation of the University codes and the terms of his PhD Scholarship, it was also a violation of the terms and conditions of his visa to the UK and consequently, the Home Office had been expected to take steps to bar him from the country, for at least, 5 years.”

A statement on the Union website indicated that Acquah cited personal reasons for his resignation.

“The ‘personal reasons’ was the exposed investment scams and the report made to the University which eventually cost him his PhD studentship.

As the first black student leader President of the University, Maxwell Nelson Acquah was elected in a surprise election result; he beat Charlene Schikler, Ryan Peteranna, and Georgia Laverick in the presidential race.