Anthony Abaayifa Karbo
Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, Anthony Abaayifa Karbo, yesterday reported at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service in connection with the case involving the President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Kwesi Nyantakyi.
The deputy minister, according to police sources, reported at about 9:00 am with his lawyer, Gary Nimako, at the Financial Fraud Unit of the CID in Accra, and left the premises after about an hour.
“He walked in as early as 9:30 am with his lawyer to give out his statement, after which he left without the notice of the media,” a source said.
The CID said Karbo is not a suspect in the case; rather, he is assisting in the Kwesi Nyantakyi issue.
Mr. Karbo, who doubles as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lawra in the Upper West Region, reportedly wrote a statement before leaving the police headquarters, indicating that he had no hand in the alleged scandal.
According to his lawyer (Mr Gary Nimako), the CID invited the deputy minister because his name was mentioned in the Anas video with Kwesi Nyantakyi.
The MP has allegedly been mentioned in the yet-to-be released investigative piece by ace journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, and his Tiger Eye PI team, in which the GFA boss appears to feature prominently.
Nyantakyi is being investigated for inducing investors, defrauding by false pretences and corruption.
As the police pointed out to him, Karbo may be used as a witness in the case.
Later, the Director General in-charge of the Public Affairs Directorate of the Ghana Police Service, Assistant Commissioner of Police, (ACP) David Eklu, confirmed that Mr. Karbo honoured the invitation extended to him by the CID to give out his statement.
He said, “In the company of his lawyer, the Lawra MP gracefully came to give out his statement and left.”
Mr. Nyantakyi was arrested last Wednesday morning after President Akufo-Addo – who had watched the audiovisual involving Kwesi Nyantakyi – had lodged an official complaint to the police that the GFA president had used his (President Akufo-Addo’s) name for a purported fraudulent business transaction.
Managing Editor of New Crusading Guide, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr., confirmed on Metro TV last Thursday that Mr. Karbo had been mentioned in the documentary, following a confirmation that President Akufo-Addo and his Vice, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, had been mentioned.
Anas’ documentary titled, “Number 12: When Misconduct and Greed Become the Norm,” on the investigation he and his team carried out, is expected to be premiered on June 6, 2018, at the Accra International Conference Centre.
CID’s Earlier Denial
Late last week, there was confusion over whether or not the MP had been invited to assist the police to investigate the case.
The Deputy Director General in-charge of the Criminal Investigations Department, ACP Aboagye Nyarko, had told journalists that the Lawra MP had not been invited to assist in the ongoing investigation into the alleged corruption by the GFA boss.
“Nobody has been invited to assist in our investigations concerning Mr. Nyantakyi’s case. Even if we are to invite him, we must follow the due procedure by first notifying the Speaker of Parliament since he is a member of the house,” ACP Aboagye Nyarko had said.
It turned out later that the police sent a notice to the Speaker of Parliament, asking him to release Mr Karbo to assist them.
A Deputy Chief of Staff, Samuel Abu Jinapor, had said earlier at a media briefing that the GFA boss was the subject of an investigation by the CID after President Akufo-Addo had seen part of an investigative piece by Anas and his Tiger Eye PI.
Mr. Jinapor said Mr. Nyantakyi was captured by Anas’ Tiger Eye PI allegedly trying to secure investments in the name of the President, the Vice-President and other key government officials; and that formed the basis for President Akufo-Addo’s complaint to the CID.
(lindatenyah@gmil.com)
BY Linda Tenyah-Ayettey