Ghana special prosecutor give reasons why e want make high court confam di seizure of moni dem find for former sanitation minister house

Special prosecutor for Ghana don give reasons why e want make high court confam di seizure of moni wey dem find for former sanitation minister im house.

Kissi Agyebeng also dey ask say make di court freeze di seven bank accounts of di former minister Cecilia Dapaah.

Di latest justification dey come afta di court rule on 17 August say di prosecutor no demonstrate enough basis why di court must grant di application.

Di court wey Justice Edward Twum dey preside, say “di SP im action be dey fuelled by speculation den public sentiments wia dem also do poor investigations.”

Justice Edward Twum tok say di filing of confirmation of di freeze afta seven days dey breach di law.

Afta di prosecutor carry out di order to release di assets and accounts to di minister within seven days of di ruling, im re-seize di cash of $590k den GHC 2.7m.

Di amount be moni dem find as dem search three of di minister im houses for Abelenkpe, Tesano and Cantonments.

For fresh documents wia di prosecutor don file for court, di OSP justify why im suspect say di minister im moni “be tainted with corruption”.

'Former minister im dead brother still dey send am moni'

Di prosecutor say one of di prudential bank accounts get “highly suspicious transactions in di name of di deceased brother of di former minister.”

Afta say di man, Nana Akwasi Essan die in January 2022, active transfers from im bank account to Cecilia im account dey happun.

Di prosecutor tok say di dead pesin transfer $907 (GHC 10.4k) and $979 (GHC 11.3k) from im account to di former minister on 19 September 2022 and 23 May 2023.

According to di prosecutor, di bank no get records of probate or letters of administration wia dem grant to personal representatives.

Na so di prosecutor tok di court say di minister get questions to ansa.

'Di minister get undeclared real estate business'

Anoda reason di prosecutor dey take justify why di court for confam di freeze of Cecilia im assets be say she no disclose im real estate business.

“As minister, Cecilia don dey engage for undeclared business wia she conceal di transactions by using aliases.”

Di reason be say she take di aliases avoid detection of di actual ownership of di properties and di business.

Di prosecutor argue say during dat time, di minister don dey receive proceeds of transactions for im bank accounts.

How dem find di moni

Di prosecutor find say dem don conceal di moni for wraps, poly bags and thirty two envelopes wia dem bury am for obscure places for di house.

E argue say im office get audiovisual recording of how dem suffer take find di moni for di house, wia dem present give di court.

For di moni wia dey di envelopes, some be labeled sitting allowance.

Di former minister tok say part of di $243k (GHC 2.8m) dem find for one of di houses be sitting allowances she receive as minister.

But di prosecutor say di amounts be more dan standard sitting allowances for public sector ministers den oda workers for di kontri.

Some of di moni also be proceeds from Cecilia im cosmetics business.

Cecilia explain say im register di business under di name Dermacare Cosmetics as sole proprietorship.

But prosecutor argue for di court document say “di minister no be registered legal owner of di company.”

Official records for di registrar of companies dey show say di proprietor of Dermacare Cosmetics be one Marian Awuah and not Cecilia.

Kissi Agyebeng say sake of dis reasons, im office dey suspect say di moni be “tainted property” na so di court for freeze am as dem dey continue dia investigations.

Di court go hear di latest application by di prosecutor on 18 October.

Cecilia Dapaah den im husband report give police on 4 July, say im former domestic staff tiff im moni den oda tins for dia house.

Two former house-helps, two boyfriends den one oda pesin who be one of di house-helps im father.

Di court documents wey state di facts of di case tok say di minister no reveal who dey own di $200k den di €300k.

Afta di gist don go public, di minister tender im resignation say im no wan make di mata turn wahala for di goment.

Na so police arrest four accused pesin for di mata den take dem go court.

Dem arrest three oda suspects later.

All of dem dey stand trail say dem tiff di minister im moni.

As dat trial dey happun, di prosecutor take interest in di matter afta dem suspect say di sources of di moni for di minister im house be questionable.

Na so di OSP launch investigation into suspected corruption den corruption-related offenses regarding di former minister sake of she be former public servant.