The state has dropped charges against two men accused of being accomplices in the $8 million romance scam case involving Frederick Kumi, popularly known as Abu Trica.
The charges against Lord Eshun and Bernard Aidoo were withdrawn after the prosecution, led by State Attorney Derrick Ackah Nyamekeh, told the Gbese District Court that the state had now “put its house in order.”
Mr Kumi, together with Eshun and Aidoo, was first brought before the court on December 12, 2025, on provisional extradition charges linked to their alleged roles in the scam. At the time, all three faced accusations of conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
When the case came up again on January 13, 2026, Mr Nyamekeh informed the court that further investigations had led the Republic to withdraw the charges against Eshun and Aidoo, who were listed as the second and third accused persons.
He explained that the two had been provisionally charged under Section 6 of the Extradition Act, 1960 (Act 22), as accessories to Mr Kumi, who is described as the principal fugitive in the case.
According to the prosecution, the extradition treaties Ghana has with the United States and the United Kingdom allow for the provisional arrest and arraignment of a fugitive before a district court while awaiting a formal diplomatic request. It was on this basis, he said, that Mr Kumi had been brought before the court, with the final decision on whether he would face trial abroad resting with the court.
Addressing objections raised by defence lawyers over the committal process, Mr Nyamekeh insisted it was too early to demand Mr Kumi’s release.
“If defence counsel’s objection is anything to go by, it is, at best, premature to call for his release,” he told the court.
Counsel for Mr Kumi and Aidoo, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, said he had no objection to the state’s decision to withdraw the provisional charges against Eshun and Aidoo. However, he argued that once those charges were dropped, the case against Mr Kumi could no longer stand.
He pointed out that the charge sheet showed Mr Kumi was accused of conspiracy, and under Ghanaian law, a conspiracy cannot exist with only one person.
“With the withdrawal of the charges against the alleged co-conspirators, the charge against the first accused fails entirely,” he argued, adding that Mr Kumi should therefore be discharged and released.
Mr Barker-Vormawor also referred the court to the Extradition Act and Article 3 of the 1931 treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom, stressing that committal proceedings must be based on offences recognised under Ghanaian law and classified as extraditable.
He maintained that such proceedings could not exist in isolation but must be firmly grounded in law.
After hearing the arguments, the relieving judge adjourned the case to February 7, 2026, to deliver a ruling. The court declined to discharge Eshun and Aidoo at this stage, citing insufficient details before it.
All three accused persons were remanded into lawful custody until the next hearing date.
Mr Kumi, Eshun and Aidoo are alleged to be linked to an $8 million romance scam in the United States and were initially accused of conspiracy to defraud by false pretences and conspiracy to commit money laundering.