A joint technical task-force comprising EOCO, the Bank of Ghana (BOG), the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) and the Ghana Police Service, on Monday, July 10, 2023, conducted a swoop in three (3) different suburbs in the Greater Accra Region where a total of four hundred and twenty-two (422) Ghanaian and three (3) foreign nationals were arrested.
In all, six hundred and fifty-four (654) mobile phones, twenty-two (22) laptop computers and about eight hundred (800) sim cards were retrieved as part of the exercise.
This followed complaints about the activities of unlicensed online loan application platforms and their threat to the unsuspecting public.
In keeping with its statutory mandate, EOCO is enjoined to collaborate with relevant state agencies to safeguard the integrity of the financial markets in Ghana. In view of the above, a joint technical task-force comprising EOCO, the Bank of Ghana (BOG) and the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) was constituted to clamp down the activities of unlicensed digital loan application platforms.
Investigations into these complaints have led to the identification of one hundred and fifty (150) unlicensed digital loan application platforms whose owners/administrators resort to the use of death threats and the non-consensual distribution of private messages, images and videos mainly accessed through authorized permissions granted by unsuspecting victims who patronize these digital platforms.
A statement signed by the Executive director of the Economic and Organized Crime Office, EOCO, COP Maame Tiwa Addo-Danquah, reiterate the commitment EOCO to the enforcement of relevant laws on the operations of the financial markets in Ghana and hereby cautions the general public to desist from having any form of engagements with unlicensed financial entities who ply their trade online.
The Economic and Organized Crime Office is a statutory body mandated by the Economic and Organized Crime Act, 2010 (Act 804) to monitor and investigate economic and organized crimes and on the authority of the Attorney-General, prosecute these offenses to recover the proceeds of crime.
By Peter Quao Adattor
Full Statement
