Kwaben Adu-Boahene
The prosecution in the ongoing trial of former Director-General of National Signals Bureau (NSB), Kwabena Adu-Boahene and his wife, Angela Adjei-Boateng, has through the witnesses it called failed to establish a direct, property-by-property financial link between the alleged GH¢49.1 million and the numerous properties and vehicles it has attributed to the accused, following the closure of its case.
Through the witnesses it called before the Accra High Court, the prosecution has failed to show how identifiable portions of the alleged GH¢49.1 million were used to acquire the specific properties and luxury vehicles cited in its case, despite making the alleged acquisitions a major part of the case against the accused persons.
The prosecution placed several properties, including houses at Mayfair Estates, Oyarifa, and properties in London, as well as vehicles, among others, before the court as part of its case.
However, its final witness, Frank Marshall Cromwell, an investigator with the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) could not identify the specific portions of the alleged GH¢49.1 million used to acquire those assets.
The evidential gap became particularly stark during his cross-examination by lead counsel for the accused, Samuel Atta-Akyea, on September 8, 2026, when he admitted that there were no ownership documents before the court for some of the properties and that asset investigations remained ongoing in respect of others.
Cromwell further admitted that, in the case of Dorchester Heights property, “there were no direct payments from accounts analysed” towards its acquisition, while he could not identify the amount of the alleged GH¢49.1 million used to acquire the vehicles frozen in connection with the case, telling the court: “I do not recall.”
The issue is particularly significant because the Attorney General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, at his March 24, 2025 press conference, alleged that the GH¢49.1 million had been diverted from an account associated with the National BNC and subsequently used for personal expenses, investments and acquisitions, including real estate and luxury vehicles of the accused.
Those allegations were subsequently placed before the court as part of the prosecution’s case.
Yet, when Mr. Atta-Akyea took Cromwell through the prosecution’s own exhibits, the investigator could not provide a corresponding financial trail for several of the properties and assets.
On properties at Belsize Park, Dorchester Heights and Kobby Keach Hotel, the witness conceded that the prosecution had not placed ownership documents before the court for some of them and, when asked to trace the alleged GH¢49.1 million to their acquisition, he claimed that asset investigations were ongoing.
“Can you point to any part of the alleged GH₵49.1 million that you can trace to the purported acquisition of Belsize Park and Kobby Keach Hotel?” Mr. Atta-Akyea asked.
“As I indicated, asset investigations is ongoing in respect of these properties,” Cromwell answered.
“So, can you point to any part of the alleged GH₵49.1 million that you can trace to the purported acquisition of Dorchester Heights?” the lawyer further asked.
“In all documents provided before this court, there were no direct payments from accounts analyzed towards Dorchester Heights, but I can recall statements provided by PW3 in respect of a project in Kumasi,” the witness answered.
And when Mr. Atta-Akyea asked the investigator to use the prosecution’s exhibits to demonstrate how much of the alleged GH¢49.1 million had been spent on the vehicles or car-rental business, Frank Marshall Cromwell again conceded that he does not recall from his exhibits before the court anything directly connecting dissipation of funds to vehicles frozen and suspected to be stolen vehicles.
Asked how much of the GH¢49.1 million was applied to the fertiliser business, Frank Marshall Cromwell answered: “There is no such estimate in my Exhibit Y.”
On the alleged treasury bill investments, he was equally unable to point to evidence in the prosecution’s financial chart, saying, “there is no such mention of it.”
The cross-examination therefore placed the prosecution’s financial case under considerable strain, particularly because the alleged GH¢49.1 million is at the centre of the charges, while several of the acquisitions highlighted by the state were not matched by a corresponding transaction trail in Exhibits U, Y and Y1.
Cromwell maintained that he identified a GH¢1.5 million transfer to Mayfair Estates traceable to BNC Communications Bureau Limited through Advantage Solutions.
Mr. Atta-Akyea challenged the investigator over the state’s freezing orders, and Cromwell admitted that searches at the Lands Commission and other relevant authorities were still part of the ongoing asset investigations.
The defence also confronted him with the London properties, which had featured prominently in the Attorney General’s accompanying facts.
Asked about the purchase price of the London property, Cromwell said “offhand, I do not have the value.”
The witness further acknowledged that the asset investigation documents relating to the London properties had not been made available to the court, although he said information showed that two London properties were registered in the name of Vertex Solutions, owned by Adjei-Boateng.
Taken together, the evidence from the prosecution’s final witness leaves the court with a clear distinction between alleging ownership or connection to an asset and proving that the alleged GH¢49.1 million was actually used to acquire that asset.
With the prosecution now having closed its case after about 18 months of proceedings, the court will ultimately have to determine whether the evidence led by the state establishes the charges, not merely the allegations made at the Attorney General’s March 2025 press conference.
In a related development, it emerged in court that the owners of Kobby Keach Hotel in Kumasi, one of the properties the prosecution presented as owned by Adu-Boahene, had sued EOCO in the High Court for freezing their property and wrongfully attributing ownership of the property.
A Daily Guide Report