Broadcast journalist and Deputy Editor of Razz entertainment newspaper, Osarfo Anthony, is in the custody of the Airport Police after attempting to extort Ȼ25,000 from Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan through blackmail.
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Journalist grabbed for extortion
A journalist is in the grips of the police for attempting to extort Ȼ25,000 from Asamoah Gyan
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Daily Guide has seen a copy of an undertaking signed by Osarfo Anthony, pledging to halt all negative publications on Asamoah Gyan, particularly his alleged sexual encounter with Sarah Kwablah, if the Ȼ25,000 was paid him.
Asamoah Gyan's alleged sexual encounter was said to have been captured on video and the Razz deputy editor had threatened to unleash it in the public domain if the money was not handed to him.
The extortion process was also secretly recorded on video the night Osarfo Anthony received the cash from Asamoah Gyan's Manager, Samuel Anim Addo.
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According to police reports, Osarfo had threatened he had some damning recordings that indicted Asamoah Gyan in the alleged rape cum sodomy claim put out by his ex partner, Sarah Kwablah.
The journalist, according to the report, had threatened to make the said recordings public unless the money was paid to him.
The suspect further went on to collect various sums of money including Ȼ 5,000, $1,000 and a cheque with a face value of Ȼ 15,000 as part of the payments.
He has provisionally been charged with extortion and is currently in the custody of the Airport Police awaiting appearance in court.
Confirming the arrest to Daily Guide, Superintendent Yao Tetegah, the Airport District Police Chief, said Osarfo Anthony was arrested on Wednesday July 29,2015 while he was receiving part of the said monies demanded from Asamoah Gyan's Manager.
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Police received an official complaint from Samuel Anim Addo that the suspect had threatened to publish videos of Gyan having sex with one Sarah Kwablah if an amount of Ȼ30,000 was not paid to him.
The manager was asked to feign interest in the deal and he succeeded in getting Osarfo Anthony to reduce the demand to Ȼ25,000.
The suspect then decided on a venue to receive the money.
After collecting part of the money, the police then apprehended him and brought him to the station for questioning.
Upon interrogation, the suspect said he was to receive the money as compensation for not publishing the sex video from the victim.
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Undertaking
A copy of what looks like an undertaking signed by Osarfo on the letter head of GHBase.com, one of the online news sites he works for, stated in part: "In pursuance of our earlier verbal discussion with your client to stop publications on his alleged sodomy and or rape scandal with a lady by name Sarah Kwablah, the editorial board of GHBase.com, upon the signing of this agreement with you, officially consents never to publish any reportage on the said case.
The client [Asamoah Gyan] therefore pays the publisher [Osarfo Anthony] an amount of Ȼ25,000 with the obligation that should the site ever do any publication on the said allegation or give out any facts or evidence on the said case to any third party person for publication, reproduction or duplication, your client has the unequivocal right to sue the site and its publisher for criminal or civil tort - whichever case may be," the document, signed by Osarfo Anthony on July 23, 2015, stated.
When Daily Guide visited the Airport Police Station on Thursday, he was behind bars and looked disturbed.
His mother was seen around also looking even more disturbed.
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It would be recalled that a 22-year-old university student, Sarah Kwablah, threatening to make public what she describes as a secretly recorded video of sexual intercourse she had with Asamoah Gyan.
Sarah, in the said publication, said she secretly recorded the video when the Black Stars captain had sex with her at her apartment in February this year and that she had decided to make it public because her relationship with the footballer was not going as she had envisaged.
The 22-year-old university student also claimed she got pregnant after the intercourse and was therefore demanding that Asamoah Gyan gets her a furnished apartment, a housemaid and a monthly stipend of $1,000 for antenatal care.
The case was first reported at the Odorkor police station in Accra and to officials of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) for investigations.
Source: Daily Guide
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