Sierra Leone News: Randa Skeiky Accused of US$500,000 Theft

By Isabella Cassell

Ali Abess, a complainant in a matter involving the theft of a whooping sum of US$500,000 allegedly by his former shopkeeper Randa Skeiky, has on Tuesday July 2, 2019, testified before Magistrate Hannah Bonnie of Court №1, Pademba Road, Freetown.

The complainant, Ali Abess is a car dealer and the owner of Ali Abess Transport and General Enterprise. He said he normally carry out his business at 128 Sir Samuel Lewis in Freetown, Bo and Kenema.

He recognized the defendant as one of his employer. He said the defendant is the manager in the sub transport office in Kenema, and she took charge of the business and his house whenever he travelled out of the shores of Sierra Leone.

He said the defendant was officially employed on October 21, 2012, and she stopped working on September 6, 2018. He said between August 25, 2018 — September 2018 he was in Lebanon and called the defendant through her telephone number and instructed her to remove US$140,000 from the US$642,000 plus 5000 pounds.

Abess told the court that when he returned to Sierra Leone on September 6, 2018, he searched the wardrobe where he kept the US$500,000 but he could not find it, noting that at that moment the defendant had already left the house.

He said he then told the defendant that he could not find the US500,000 from where he told her to take the money from, but the defendant told him that she did not take the money. He said he asked her several times but she denied the allegation and then left him in shock.

Abess said he had to call the husband of the defendant to come to Freetown and informed his elder brother about what had transpired after that the defendant deserted the house.

He said on September 12, 2018, six days after the incident, he received a tipoff that the defendant had travelled abroad, and upon that information he made a report at the headquarters of the Criminal Investigation Department.

When asked by the defense counsel, Pa Momoh Fofanah Esq. about the source of his money, the complainant told the court that he is a big businessman who has a registered business in Sierra Leone. He said that customer normally pays him in foreign currencies as well as Leones.

He said he has both local and foreign accounts for his business.

The matter was adjourned to July 10, 2019.