The Akim Oda branch of the SG-SSB bank has been temporarily closed down following the arrest of four of its top officials, for allegedly embezzlement of GHC 592,000.

They are George Sackey, branch manager, Charles Senyah, Accountant, Samuel Adu, Customer Service and Risk  officer and Francis Tetteh, Chief Cashier all of whom are helping in Police investigations.

In a caution statement to the police, Tetteh allegedly admitted that he used the banks money for his gold business.

Deputy Superintendent of Police(DSP) Arzah Mamalieh , Akim Oda divisional crime officer, who confirmed the story on Tuesday, said on detecting the theft the bank requested the Bureau of National Investigations(BNI) to assist in investigations.

Mr. Mamalieh who briefed the Eastern regional minister,Mr. Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, on the situation said the arrest of the key members of staff led to the closure of the branch since the junior officers could not man it without supervision.

People trooped to the Birim Central municipal assembly where the regional minister was visiting to express their sentiments about the bank’s closure.

Mr. Ofosu -Ampofo said though he sympathised with the customers, the temporary shut was unavoidable because of the huge amount involved.

He, however, asked the police to expedite their investigations to enable the bank to re-open by close of Monday.

A statement by the bank on Friday said in compliance with the Central bank’s directive, the Bank of Ghana was notified within 48 hours of the fraud and a number of people have been questioned including some members of staff.

The statement assured the public and customers that it has adequate insurance cover for fraud and its operations will not be affected.

The Board and Management of SG-SSB wish to inform all stakeholders that this even will have no impact on the operations of the bank and will neither affect its strategy nor lending capacity and more importantly its Akim Oda branch customers who will soon be attended to in new modern premises.

The statement said that SG-SSB has taken all measures to audit the Akim Oda branch" to close positions and re-in force existing internal controls" and added that business remains fully operational and the branch is ready to serve customer needs.

TIMES/AMA