Businessman Charged with Larceny by Servant at Ecobank

Businessman Charged with Larceny by Servant at Ecobank

The ongoing legal proceedings against Ishmael Hortons Jalloh, a 39-year-old businessman, advanced as he appeared before Magistrate John Manso Fornah at Pademba Road Court No. 2. Mr. Jalloh is accused of larceny by servant, a violation of Section 17(1)(a) of the Larceny Act of 1916.

According to the police charge sheet, Mr. Jalloh, then a Card Operations Officer at Ecobank Sierra Leone Limited, allegedly misappropriated Le 981,268.38 in new Leones from the bank’s General Ledger between September 5, 2022, and November 2024.

The funds were purportedly deposited into the account of Car Tech (Account Number: 6340005879) and subsequently withdrawn by the account holder under instruction, an act deemed an unlawful appropriation of Ecobank's assets. Mr. Jalloh did not enter a plea when the charge was read.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Dialla Wellington led the prosecution, calling Osman David Kamara, Head of Internal Audit at Ecobank Freetown, as the first witness. Mr. Kamara identified the accused as a former staff member responsible for Card Operations.

Mr. Kamara testified that the bank's internal investigation revealed fraudulent transfers to an account identified as Kaitech Investment Services (Account Number: 6340005879), from which the funds were withdrawn by the account holder, Vandi Kallon. 

The investigation indicated that Mr. Jalloh was responsible for accessing refund files from the group switch team via an XL sheet platform but allegedly failed to properly verify these refunds, resulting in the erroneous inclusion of incorrect account numbers.

Further inquiries uncovered additional fraudulent transfers totaling Le 1,777,724.95 to accounts belonging to Alhaji Rogers (Account Number: 6340033306) and Isata Jalloh (Account Number: 6340011600), an amount exceeding the initial report to law enforcement. 

Vandi Kallon was subsequently apprehended and transferred to the authorities, though no restitution has been received from the other beneficiaries to date. Mr. Jalloh's statement to the police has been admitted as Exhibit C1-6.

Defense counsel J. B. Massaquio requested bail for the accused, citing the availability of reliable sureties and emphasizing that Mr. Jalloh had previously been granted police bail and has committed to attending all court proceedings. Bail was granted under Section 79(2) and (3) of the Criminal Procedure Act of 1916.

The court continued the accused on bail, and the matter has been adjourned to October 6, 2025, for further proceedings.