UBA Head of Operations Sentenced to 40 Years for Embezzlement

By Love Oyedokun

Freetown, Sierra Leone – Fredrick Caulker, Head of Operations at the United Bank of Africa (UBA), has been sentenced to 40 years in prison by the Anti-Corruption Division of the High Court in Freetown. The sentence follows his conviction on multiple counts of misappropriating public funds.

Cablenews24 reports that Honorable Justice Aiah Simeon Allieu, a Court of Appeal Judge, presided over the case at the Main Law Courts Building. Caulker was found guilty on four counts of misappropriation, violating Section 36(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act No. 12 of 2008, as amended by Act No. 9 of 2019.

The charges stemmed from Caulker’s diversion of tax payments intended for the National Revenue Authority (NRA). These payments were originally allocated by the Small Holder Commercialization Agri-Business Development Project (SCADeP).

Prosecutors successfully argued that Caulker, residing at No. 38A Taylor Street, Wellington, Freetown, abused his position at UBA. He rerouted PAYE and withholding tax payments away from designated NRA accounts into unauthorized accounts.

The prosecution presented eight witnesses, including a banker from Commerce Mortgage Bank. A former subordinate of Caulker’s (PW2) testified that in November 2023, he processed financial transactions under Caulker’s instruction. PW2 stated that funds totaling Le. 293,749.80, Le. 169,134.29, Le. 1,291,623.50, and Le. 255,725.81, initially destined for NRA accounts, were redirected based on Caulker’s directives. The witness recounted an instance where Caulker claimed a transfer error and instructed the funds to be deposited into a different account, providing specific details.

While Caulker was acquitted on a fifth count of conspiracy due to insufficient evidence, he received a ten-year sentence for each of the four counts of misappropriation. The judge ordered these sentences to be served consecutively, resulting in the 40-year total.

In addition to the prison sentence, Caulker was ordered to pay Le. 1,980,233.40 into the Consolidated Revenue Fund within 90 days of the judgment.

Source: SierraLeone loaded

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