Hot Source…Over US$29m fraud charges
A United Kingdom court, has threatened to issue an arrest warrant for Kevin Okyere, the founder and owner of Springfield Exploration and Production Limited (SEP), a subsidiary of the Springfield Group, if he fails to appear before it on September 3, 2025, to answer criminal charges of fraud.
Mr Okyere, who is currently in Ghana, was summoned by Westminster Magistrates’ Court, located at 181 Marylebone Road, London, and sternly warned that failure to attend could result in proceedings continuing in his absence or in a warrant being issued for his arrest, with the possibility of being remanded in custody until brought before the court.
The charges relate to an alleged fraud of USD 29,321,064.51 (Twenty-Nine Million, Three Hundred and Twenty-One Thousand, Sixty-Four Dollars and Fifty-One Cents) involving a cargo of gasoline supplied by EDURC Company DMCC and discharged at Tema, Ghana, on September 5, 2024.
The summoned, intercepted by The Herald, had UK Prosecutors alleging that between July 2024 and June 2025, Mr Okyere dishonestly represented that he would pay the stated amount within 30 days, knowing this to be untrue, in order to make a personal gain.
According to the summons, dated 13 August 2025, Mr Okyere’s UK address was traced to 14 St John’s Wood Road, London NW8 BRE.
The matter, filed under case number 012500503129, identified Petraco Oil Company SA, represented by Bracewell (UK) LLP of Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, London, EC2N 1HQ, as the complainant.
The court has scheduled the hearing for 3 September 2025 at 10:05 a.m. at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, with Mr Okyere instructed to report at least 30 minutes prior to the listing time.
The notice reiterated that attendance is mandatory and that non-compliance may trigger an arrest warrant.
According to the charge sheet, the alleged conduct constitutes offences under Sections 1 and 2 of the Fraud Act 2006, which criminalize making false representations for personal gain or to cause loss to another.
The court notice states: “The court will hear the case on 3 September 2025 at 10:05 am at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, 181 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5BR (telephone 0300 303 0645). Attendance: You must attend the court 30 minutes before the time shown above. A listing time is not a guaranteed hearing time. You may be required to wait. Warning: If you do not attend, the court may deal with the case in your absence or may issue a warrant for your arrest (and you may be held in custody until you are brought before the court).”
The charges, under Sections 1 and 2 of the UK Fraud Act 2006, allege that between 1 July 2024 and 1 June 2025, Mr Okyere dishonestly made a false representation that he would pay USD 29,321,064.51 for the gasoline cargo within 30 days, “knowing this to be untrue and intending to make a gain for himself.”
Fraud under the Act carries a penalty of up to 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.
More to come!
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