Fake Ghanaian Investor Flees Sierra Leone After Duping Local Businesses of $60,000

Thomas Abanga, a Ghanaian man, who posed himself as an international investor, has sneaked out of Sierra Leone after receiving the sum of $60,000 from two local businesses for agricultural supplies, leaving the local businesses in disarray.

In September 2024, Abanga reportedly fled Freetown shortly after his shell company, Abanga Group and Firms, was paid to supply maize and soya beans to a reputable poultry feed production organization in Sierra Leone.

Presenting himself as an international commercial farmer, he lured local stakeholders with promises of substantial investment in the country’s agricultural sector.

According to report, Mr. Abanga touted his expertise as a leading maize producer not just in Ghana, but also in Namibia, South Africa, expressing plans for large-scale rice and maize production in Sierra Leone. However, after receiving the sizable payment, he vanished without delivering the promised order, which was due in November 2024.

Following his disappearance, victims of the fraud reportedly made numerous attempts to contact Abanga for a refund but met with silence as he ceased all communications and went underground.

Compounding his deceit, report also confirmed that Abanga left a substantial outstanding bill of $16,000 at the Sierra Palms Hotel, where he had stayed for several weeks prior to his departure.

Reportedly, in June 2024, in an effort to further his ruse, Abanga rented storage space in Kobia, Mambolo Chiefdom, announcing plans to cultivate 3,000 hectares of land in the 2025 cropping season, confirming that he imported second-hand machinery from Ghana and employed local guards to oversee his equipment, but unexpectedly stopped paying them after a couple of months.

To date, report claimed that not a single hectare promised for cultivation has been tilled, leading to disappointment among the Kobia community, who had anticipated job opportunities from Abanga’s supposed investment.

Local authorities have urged the public to report any sightings of Thomas Abanga to the nearest police station.