The police have made mind-boggling discoveries of properties purchased by the seven persons dragged before court for stealing millions of Ghana Cedis and other foreign currencies from the home of former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah and her husband, Daniel Osei Kufuor.
The discovery includes an 11-unit chamber and hall self-contain house purchased at the cost of GH¢800,000 at Budumburam by Christiana Achab, one of the new suspects arrested last week.
Court documents indicate that the accused, who hitherto was living in a wooden structure with her husband in the same locality as Patience Botwe, one of the former minister’s housemaids, received a total of GH¢2.83 million from the loot that forced Madam Dapaah to resign following public outcry.
Christiana Achab, according to court documents, also purchased a three-bedrom house at Aplaku at the sum of GH¢300,000 for Patience Botwe.
She and her husband Job Pomary also purchased a four-bedroom apartment at Kokrobite at the cost of GH¢280,000 for herself, while she also invited another suspect, Yahaya Sumaila from Tamale in the Northern Region to Accra and purchased another three-bedroom apartment at Amrahia at the cost of GH¢850,000 in his name.
Christiana Achab, according to prosecuting documents, also purchased two Honda Acura vehicles at the cost of GH¢300,000 each and registered them in the name of Franklin Sarakpo, who is on the run.
This brings the total number of mansions bought with the stolen money to six, costing a total of GH¢2.23 million and $70,000 respectively.
The price of a three-bedroom mansion built by Sarah Agyei, one of the housemaids, at Budumburam was not specified.
It also brings the total number of vehicles identified to four, costing a total of GH¢1.58 million, while two properties which were rented in Tamale cost a total of GH¢225,000.
The prosecution has amended the charge sheet in the case and Kwaku Botwe, 65-year-old trader and father of Patience Botwe, who was accused of dishonestly receiving GH¢70,000 of the loot, has been dropped from the charge sheet.
This leaves Patience Botwe and Sarah Agyei, the two housemaids, facing various counts of conspiracy to steal and the substantive charges of stealing, while Benjamin Sowah, Malik Dauda, Christiana Achab, Job Pomary and Yahaya Sumaila, are facing charges of dishonestly receiving various sums of the stolen money.
Per the new charge sheet, Patience Botwe and Sarah Agyei have been charged for stealing a total of $1 million from the former minister against whom the Attorney General has recommended an investigation of money laundering.
The two are also facing another charge of stealing €300,000, GH¢350,000 from Madam Dapaah, while Sarah Agyei is separately charged for stealing another $95,000 from the former minister.
Benjamin Sowah has been charged for dishonestly receiving GH¢180,000 from Patience Botwe, while Malik Dauda is accused of dishonesty receiving GH¢100,000 from Sarah Agyei and another GH¢5,000 from Patience Botwe.
Christiana Achab, on the other hand, is charged for dishonestly receiving a total of GH¢2.83 million from Patience Botwe.
The pleas of the accused persons are still yet to be taken, but Sarah Agyei and Christiana Achab were admitted to a GH¢1 million bail each with three sureties each to be justified because they are both lactating mothers.
The others have been remanded into lawful custody to reappear on August 22.
By Gibril Abdul Razak