The Attorney-General has commenced criminal proceedings against the former General Manager of N.N. Est Metals Company Limited and M.N.D. Metals Company Limited, Mohammed Nassereddine, over allegations that he dishonestly appropriated $280,000 by authorising payments to himself without the approval of the Group Chief Executive Officer.
The prosecution contended that the accused orchestrated a series of unauthorised payments involving funds belonging to N.N. Metals Company Limited in March 2023, contrary to the company’s internal approval procedures. Although investigators say Mr Nassereddine admitted receiving the funds, the Attorney-General maintained that his assertion that the money represented commission due him was inconsistent with the terms governing his remuneration.
Mr Nassereddine has consequently been charged before the Criminal Division of the High Court in Accra with two counts of stealing, contrary to Section 124(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29). According to the Attorney-General’s brief facts, Mr. Nassereddine was employed in December 2019 by Nidal Nassar Eddine, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the N.N.
Est Group of Companies, as General Manager responsible for overseeing the group’s operations in Lebanon, Dubai, Turkey, Burkina Faso and Ghana. As head of the group’s Ghanaian operations, the prosecution said he exercised managerial authority over N.N. Metals Company Limited, where his responsibilities included the management of company stock and the reconciliation of monthly stock settlements.
The Attorney-General alleged that the relations between the accused and the Group Chief Executive Officer deteriorated in October 2022 after Mr Nassereddine was directed to surrender company stock under his control but allegedly failed to comply with that instruction. The prosecution further alleged that on 8 March 2023, Mr Nassereddine instructed the company’s accountant to pay him US$50,000 belonging to N.N. Est Metals Company Limited without obtaining the approval of the Group Chief Executive Officer, contrary to the company’s established authorisation procedures.
Later the same day, he was alleged to have directed the accountant to pay him an additional US$30,000 belonging to M.N.D. Metals Company Limited, also without the requisite approval.
Summary from source