{"id":1740,"date":"2025-02-24T21:18:20","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T21:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/?p=1740"},"modified":"2025-02-24T21:18:26","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T21:18:26","slug":"magistrate-bangura-remands-businessman-in-high-profile-embezzlement-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/?p=1740","title":{"rendered":"Magistrate Bangura Remands Businessman in High-Profile Embezzlement Case"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Mamajah Jalloh<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Freetown, Sierra Leone \u2013 Philip Vanjah<\/strong>, a businessman, was again arraigned before Magistrate Santigie Bangura<\/strong> of Pademba Road Court No. 2<\/strong> on Monday, February 24, 2025<\/strong>, on a charge of embezzlement<\/strong>, contrary to Section 17(1)(b) of the Larceny Act of 1916<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the particulars of offense<\/strong>, between January and April 2024<\/strong>, at No. 17 Siaka Stevens Street, Freetown<\/strong>, Vanjah allegedly embezzled Le 1,205,275<\/strong>, which he had received on behalf of Fundex Foreign Exchange Bureau Sierra Leone Limited<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the charge was read and explained, no plea was taken<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prosecution Witness Testifies<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The prosecution, led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Joan Bull<\/strong>, presented Prosecution Witness No. 3<\/strong>, Detective Police Constable (DPC) 17809 Alimamy Kamara<\/strong>, attached to the Economic Unit at CID Headquarters, Freetown<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kamara testified that on August 12, 2024<\/strong>, while on duty, the complainant reported the matter, which was assigned to him and DPC 14855 Bangura S.N.<\/strong> for investigation. Statements were obtained from the complainant and witnesses, and the complainant provided a copy of the accused\u2019s appointment letter<\/strong>, which was tendered in court as Exhibit A1-2<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On September 3, 2024<\/strong>, a team of detectives, led by DPC 14855 Bangura S.L.<\/strong>, executed a search warrant<\/strong> at the accused\u2019s premises, where they discovered documents of police interest<\/strong>. These documents were tendered as Exhibit B1-8<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between August 23 and September 3, 2024<\/strong>, Kamara and Bangura obtained a voluntary statement<\/strong> from the accused in Krio<\/strong>, which was recorded in English<\/strong>. After the statement was read and explained to him, the accused confirmed its accuracy and signed it with his handprint<\/strong>. This statement was tendered as Exhibit C1-94<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between September 26 and 30, 2024<\/strong>, Kamara and Bangura conducted a further interview<\/strong> with the accused, and the resulting conditional statement<\/strong> was tendered as Exhibit D1-37<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On October 16, 2024<\/strong>, the accused was formally charged<\/strong>, following the same procedure as in his previous statements. The charge statement<\/strong> was tendered as Exhibit E1-3<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bail Application & Ruling<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Defense counsel A. Freeman<\/strong> applied for bail<\/strong>, arguing that the accused is a Sierra Leonean<\/strong>, not a flight risk<\/strong>, and has reliable sureties<\/strong> who are willing to present themselves in court when required. Freeman also noted that Vanjah is a family man<\/strong> and would not interfere with prosecution witnesses<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The accused was cross-examined<\/strong> by A. Freeman and F.S. Koroma<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Magistrate Bangura denied bail<\/strong>, citing the serious nature of the offense<\/strong> and the vague residential address<\/strong> provided by the accused. He ordered that Vanjah be remanded at the Male Correctional Center in Freetown<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case has been adjourned to March 3, 2025<\/strong>, for the continuation of the trial<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mamajah Jalloh Freetown, Sierra Leone \u2013 Philip Vanjah, a businessman, was again arraigned before…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1740"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1744,"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1740\/revisions\/1744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}