UK Court orders Ghanaian ex-soldier who sued British Defence ministry for £1.6m to pay back £70,000 for lying about his health2 min read

The former soldier sued the UK Ministry of Defense for a whooping sum of £ 1.6 million after suffering an injury to his foot while on deployment in Estonia.

According to The Daily Mail, Mantey who enlisted with the British Army in 2009 claimed to have lost initial mobility from the injury and had to layer up with several outwear to see his physician.

He later dropped the case after he was secretly filmed by Ministry of Defense investigators walking on the streets without a stick and an open-toe shoe.

According to investigators, the soldier had indeed suffered trench foot but had recovered yet lied about the situation to cash out from the government.

He now faces a lawsuit from his former employers for falsehood and has incurred £70,000 in bills for legal representation.

A British High Court presided by Judge Mr Justice Eyre said his claim had been ‘fundamentally dishonest.’

“The MoD says that there was deliberate malingering whereas Mr Mantey says that his presentation at the examination was genuine, with the greater activity shown in the surveillance footage being atypical,” he said in his judgment.

‘He chose to report symptoms which he knew were false and from which he was not suffering. He did so in the context of a substantial damages claim,’ he said.

‘The only possible explanation is that he did so deliberately and to enhance the value of the claim. Such conduct was dishonest.

‘I find on the balance of probabilities that Mr Mantey suffered a minor NCFI, from which he had fully recovered at some point before September 2021.

‘He dishonestly portrayed himself as having suffered a more serious injury which had a continuing and disabling effect, doing so for financial gain.

‘That dishonesty tainted the whole of the claim. It went to the heart of the claim; it substantially affected the presentation of the case as a whole; and led to a significant inflation in the claim’s value.

‘Putting it shortly, there was dishonesty as to a central feature of the case, namely the extent and continuing effect of Mr Mantey’s injuries.’

But Mr Mantey, 39 when giving his witness statement said he had indeed suffered damage to his mobility but had responded well to treatment hence the improvement in his movement

‘If only someone could see what I go through every day, then this story could be re-written,’ he said.

‘This is just one day of footage. I have been told my injuries would stay with me forever.

‘Pain comes when you’re not prepared for it. It comes when it wants to come..’