On November 13, 2024, Alusine Hudo Jalloh provided testimony in open court, asserting that Zhou Wengie, a Chinese national, engaged in forgery to establish a bank account at Rokel Commercial Bank. Jalloh claimed that the document utilized for this account opening falsely represented the signatures of authorized representatives from Pioneer Powered Engineering Company SL Limited.
The accused, Wengie, appeared before Magistrate Santigie Bangura at Pademba Road Court No.2 in Freetown, facing four counts of forgery, uttering, and conspiracy to commit fraud.
During the proceedings, Jalloh identified himself as the Director of the company, while stating that Wengie has served as the company manager since 2020. Jalloh presented documentation that substantiated the existence of a bank account opened by Wengie at Rokel Commercial Bank without the consent or knowledge of other stakeholders within the company. He further indicated that the funds deposited into this account were, in fact, the property of the company. Relevant bank details for the account in question were submitted as evidence.
Jalloh continued his testimony by revealing that upon reviewing the account, he discovered that significant sums, amounting to billions of Leones, had been deposited. He emphasized that these funds should have been allocated to the company's accounts at Eco Bank and Vista Bank. “A considerable portion of these funds was withdrawn by the accused, thereby hindering the company’s operational capabilities,” he testified.
Following Jalloh's testimony, the defense counsel, A.B. Jalloh, conducted a cross-examination of the witness.
Subsequent to the cross-examination, Magistrate Bangura ordered the remand of the accused and postponed the hearing to November 22, 2024.
According to the police report, on December 9, 2020, in Freetown, the accused allegedly conspired with unidentified individuals to forge a document purporting to be an account opening request for Rokel Commercial Bank under account number 11-1014871, dated December 9, 2020, supposedly bearing the signatures of the authorized representatives of Pioneer Powered Engineering Company SL Limited.
On that same date and location, the accused is alleged to have forged the signatures of Zhang Ke and Youg Yining on specific documents related to the account opening at Rokel Commercial Bank. Furthermore, the accused is also charged with using and presenting this forged document, which included the purported signatures of the majority shareholders of Pioneer Powered Engineering Company SL Limited.
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