Cecilia Dapaah
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has disclosed that its officers found a total of $590,000 and GH¢2.73 million at the Abelemkpe residence of former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah, who is under investigation for corruption and corruption-related offences.
According to the OSP, its officers seized the discovered cash sums “on reasonable grounds that they were suspected tainted property in accordance with Section 32(1) of 959 as it was necessary to exercise the power of seizure to prevent concealment of the cash sums.”
The OSP has administratively frozen the bank accounts of the former Minister at both Prudential Bank Limited and Societe Generale, which are said to contain substantial amounts of Ghana Cedis and other foreign currencies.
As a result, the OSP has filed an application before an Accra High Court seeking to confirm the seizure of the monies at her home as well as the freezing of the accounts pending further investigation into the true ownership and source of the monies.
The accounts identified and frozen so far include four separate ones held by the Minister at the Ring Road Central branch of Prudential Bank; three different accounts with Societe Generale, with one at the Airport City branch and two at its Madina branch, all in Accra.
The seizure of the $590,000 and GH¢2.73 million and subsequent freezing of the bank accounts flow from criminal proceedings initiated against the former minister’s housemaids who allegedly stole a total of $1 million, GH¢300,000 and €300,000 from her home between July and October 2022.
The OSP, in an affidavit in support of the application for the confirmation of the freeze, said it found that Madam Dapaah in her initial report to the police said the $800,000 stolen from her home belonged to her deceased brother and the GH¢300,000 was contribution towards her mother’s funeral which was contained in a box, but did not indicate who owned the remainder of $200,000 and the €300,000.
It said it was on the basis of the totality of the criminal intelligence gathered by the OSP and the fact that large sums of money were physically stashed at her home as stated on the charge sheet, that led a reasonable suspicion that the “cash sums were suspected tainted property as being proceeds from corruption and corruption-related offences.”
The OSP is, therefore, asking the court to confirm the seizure of the properties and the freezing order as there are reasonable grounds to believe that they are tainted.
Order to Banks
The OSP’s freezing order to the banks asked them not to allow any transactions on the accounts or investments without the written authority of the OSP except transactions including deposits into the accounts and investments including but not limited to cash, transfers from other sources and deposits from encashment of financial instruments such as treasury bills, bonds, shares, among others.
“Further, in pursuance of the investigations, you are required to cooperate and furnish the Office with the balance in each of the accounts and investments as of July 26, 2023… You will be advised when the order elapses or is revoked,” it added.
Amended Charge Sheet
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 the former minister and her husband, Daniel Osei Kuffour.
The police discovered four more mansions bought with the booty, bringing the total number to six mansions discovered by the police, costing a total of GH¢2.23 million and $70,000 respectively.
The amended charge sheet also indicated that Christiana Achab, one of the accused persons, received a total of GH¢2.83 million from the loot that forced Madam Dapaah to resign following public outcry.
Patience Botwe and Sarah Agyei, the two housemaids are facing charges 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. Another suspect identified as Franklin Sarakpo, is on the run.
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.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak