Man arrested with 656 ATM cards gets GH¢200,000 bail

A man charged with two counts of electronic trafficking and stealing, has been granted bail in the sum of GH¢200,000 with two sureties by the High Court in Accra.

Bachir Musa Aminou has been in custody since September last year after he was arrested at the Kotoka International Airport in possession of 656 ATM cards connected to nine banks operating in Ghana and Nigeria.

His bail granted by the court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, comes after several oral and written applications by his legal counsel.

According to the prosecution’s case presented to the court, Bachir Musa Aminou was arrested on September 12, 20221, while boarding an Ethiopian Airline en route to Dubai.

A search conducted on the accused, according to the prosecution, revealed 656 ATM cards bearing 656 different names issued by eight Nigerian banks and one Ghanaian bank

An amount of $12,000 was also found on the accused who investigations established had first visited Ghana on April 29, 2021, through the Aflao Border and left for Dubai on May 26, 2021.

His second visit to Ghana was on August 20, 2021. However, he was arrested on the day of his departure to Dubai.

During interrogation, Aminou said the ATM cards were given to him by one Rabiu Suleman, based in the Kano State, Nigeria, to be given to one Baffa Bawarije, a Nigerian, who was based at the Daira Night City Hotel in Dubai.

Admitting the suspect who has pleaded not guilty to his charges on Monday to bail, the court said his sureties must be Ghanaians residing in Accra and must show evidence of earning a net monthly salary of not less than GH¢3,000.

In addition to this, the court ordered the seizure of Aminou’s passport which would be deposited at the registry of the court.
As part of the bail conditions, Aminou must report to the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) every Monday till the final determination of the case.

The case has been adjourned to March 23.