Philip Addison under CID investigation for alleged fraud, forgery
The Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service has began investigations into alleged fraud and forgery involving legal practitioner, Philip Addison.
A gaming company, Merlin Gh Ltd, has filed a complaint at the police headquarters in Accra in which the legal practitioner allegedly posed as the company’s signatories to its account at Stanbic bank.
According to the letter to the CID, the bank reported to the company that Philip Addison had visited its offices, in March 2019, with documents backing his demand for a change in the name of the signatories at the bank.
Among the documents were purported meetings of a board meeting which Mr. Addison claimed confirmed the decision of the bank to change the company’s signatories.
But the minutes proved to be a fabrication. The High Court in charge of the dispute has ordered, as early as February 2020, an injunction order on restraining Mr. Addison from acting in any shape, manner or form as the company’s secretary or officer to determine any decision-making authority within it.
The bank has as a result rejected the legal practitioner’s request and the gaming company has reported Mr. Addison, triggering an investigation.
The development is another episode between Merlin Gaming company and Philip Addison which dates back to 2019.
It all began when Merlin filed a claim of 15million cedis against the National Lottery Authority for breach of contract.
It is believed that by the real owners of the company that Mr. Addison set his eyes upon the huge judgment debt as the treasure upon which to set his hands for funding his private ambitions of becoming a Member of Parliament for Akuapem North constituency.
Since then, Philip Addison has been aiding one Tachie-Menson to obtain some of these monies.
To do this,Tachie-Menson moved to the Registrar-General’s Department and falsely made changes to the company’s document, including himself as a shareholder.
He also allegedly made Philip Addison a company secretary through false documentation.
When these false acts were complained of as done, legal practitioner Philip Addison proceeded to Stanbic Bank on March 11th 2019, and falsely held himself out as a signatory to the bank account of Merlin Gaming company.
For this, he has been challenged by both shareholders of Merlin Gaming company being Eric Gbeho and Peter Nkegbe. The case is ongoing and to date Philip Addison has not been able to give any answer or provide any evidence of his legitimate employment either as the company secretary or a mandated signatory of the company’s bank account.
As stated earlier, there is a court order also restraining Philip Addison from holding himself as the company secretary and from making any withdrawal from the company’s account.
Mr. Tachie-Menson was reported to the police CID in December 2019 for criminal investigations following the alleged forgery and falsification of public documents with the intention to defraud.
It is now the turn of Philip Addison as Merlin Gaming Company has now filed another complaint against the lawyer.
“Our complaint against lawyer Philip Addison is that he presented to the bank the false board resolution, which he signed claiming falsely that it had been passed at a directors meeting, and fraudulently misrepresenting that he had been appointed company secretary by us, the body of directors of the company on that day”
“In truth and in fact, no board meeting was even called….by the directors on that day, 19th December 2019”
According to them, Mr Addison in his written response to the General Legal Council has corroborated the statements of the bank that he attended a meeting of the company at which he was appointed company secretary and thereby a signatory to the company’s bank accounts.
The NPP lawyer, Philip Addison, played a lead role in the 2012 election petition in which the NPP challenged the presidential election results which saw the NDC presidential candidate and incumbent John Mahama declared the winner.