Cecilia Dapaah
In a collaborative effort, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) of the United States of America (USA) and the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has launched an investigation into former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah.
The OSP released a note on Wednesday, October 11, stating that the primary focus of the investigation will be to examine assets and financial transactions within the US.
The investigation aims to determine the lawfulness of Ms. Dapaah and her associates’ wealth, in both the context of funds transitioning from Ghana to the United States and vice versa.
The collaborative effort between the FBI and OSP comes after lawyers representing Ms. Dapaah filed an affidavit at the Human Rights Division of the High Court seeking an interlocutory injunction on investigations being conducted by Ghana’s OSP.
The former Sanitation Minister believes the investigations conducted by the OSP to be “unfair, unreasonable, capricious, arbitrary and ultra vires.”
She filed the affidavit in response to the re-seizure of her monies and re-freezing of her accounts and property, asking for a restraining order on the OSP’s investigations until her application for judicial review is determined.
The OSP has charged Ms. Dapaah for failing to declare her income upon a lawful demand.
She allegedly failed to do so within the 30-day period required by Section 69(1)(a) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017, Act 959.
The OSP claims that as of October 5, 2023, the accused had willfully failed, without lawful excuse, to return the duly completed statutory forms to the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
Ms. Dapaah is expected to file a response to this charge in due course. The investigation led by the FBI and OSP will shed further light on the allegations brought against her, examining her financial activities and assets in the United States.
By Vincent Kubi