A 30-year-old businessman, Ibrahim Boima, has been remanded in custody following his first appearance before Magistrate Mustapha Braima Jah at Pademba Road Court No. 1 in Freetown over allegations of illegally withdrawing over Le396,000 from a church bank account.
Boima faces a 54-count indictment involving larceny, forgery, and uttering forged documents, all linked to an account held at Vista Bank belonging to the Greater Evangelism World Crusade.
According to the charge sheet, the alleged misappropriation occurred through a series of unauthorised transactions carried out between January 2023 and July 2025. The prosecution outlined several withdrawals, including Le3,500 on January 3, 2023, Le9,050 on February 4, 2023, Le71,000 between March and April 2023, Le180,300 from June to August 2023, and Le131,630 between August and October 2023, bringing the total to more than Le396,000.
Boima is further accused of forging a letter authorising changes to the church account signatories, allegedly bearing the false signature of the church secretary. He is also charged with presenting the forged letter, alongside a fake meeting minute, to Vista Bank with intent to defraud.
When the charges were read in court, Boima was not required to enter a plea, in line with standard court procedure at this stage.
Defence counsel J. Kamara Esq. applied for bail, stating that Boima is a Sierra Leonean resident with reliable sureties and does not pose a flight risk.
However, Magistrate Jah refused the bail application, citing the serious nature of the allegations, the large sums involved, and the number of charges. Boima was consequently remanded at the Male Correctional Facility in Freetown, with the matter adjourned to February 16, 2026, for further hearing.
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