By Haddy Touray
Akash Vodhuani, an Indian national working for Aryan Business Entity located at Jimpex, Kanifing, is said to be on the run for allegedly defrauding his employer of D2.2M.
He has been accused of collecting various amounts of money from business partners of Aryan Trading Company that he allegedly diverted into his own accounts and personal use.
Rajiv Sharma, proprietor of Aryan Trading Company, recounted that the incident happened between the months of September and October when the manager of the company went on his annual leave, noting that during this period he and his wife also left for vacation to India for medical check-up, leaving behind the accused who eventually “defrauded” the company of the said amount of money.
He revealed that the accused took iron steel and other valuable goods from a number of companies, including Steel Gambia, SRN Steels, Divya Trading, and MPTC Trading among others, adding that the accused fraudulently received goods worth more than D800,000 from both Steel Gambia and SRN Steel Company that he diverted into his own account without the knowledge of the Aryan Trading Company.
He alleged that the accused also received goods worth more than D350,000 from Divya Trading Company and other suppliers without depositing the monies into the accounts of the Aryan Trading Company, noting that the situation adversely affected the operations of his company and had driven a wedge between the company and its suppliers, who are now making follow-ups for their monies.
According to him, the accused was able to carry out the fraudulent activities by disconnecting all the CCTV cameras installed in the shop, noting that the accused also defrauded and diverted more than D1.1M accrued from sales of the company into his account.
Rajiv Sharma further disclosed to The Voice that his company reported the matter to the police who have since launched an investigation into the matter while calling on the public to help with any valuable information that can help in apprehending the accused.
When contacted, the assistant PRO of the Gambia Police Force, Sainabou Manjang, confirmed the story and revealed that the suspect was nabbed by the Basse Police at Swiss Guest House.
According to the deputy police spokeswoman, the police investigation got a lead into the matter on Tuesday, 12th November 2024, when they pursued the suspect through one Isatou Jallow of Brikama Nyambai whom the suspect assigned to collect money on his behalf at a shop in Brikama, adding that Isatou was subsequently arrested by investigators and that during investigations, she disclosed that the suspect was lodged at Swiss Guest House in Basse.
“Swift communications were made to investigators in Basse who eventually arrested the suspect from the said guest house. Finally, the suspect was currently detained at Basse police station, where he awaits to be received by Kairaba CID for further investigation,” said Madam Manjang. She added: “Wednesday, 13th November 2024, investigators interrogated suspect AakashVadhvani on the allegations made by the complainant during which he confessed to investigators that he stole the sum of two million two hundred and fifty-seven thousand seven hundred and fifty dalasis (D2,257,750.00) from other companies and individuals in the name of the complainant’s company Aryan Trading Company Limited and used the money to play gambling (betting).”
Asst. PRO Manjang further disclosed that the suspect was cautioned and detained for further investigation, adding that witness statements were obtained.
