…..After slashing SIC-Life’s GH¢14.8 million investment to GH¢5 million
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, is alleged to have received a suspicious fee of about GH¢2.2 million from a third party after a debt owed to the state-owned SIC Life Savings and Loans Company Limited was reduced from approximately GH¢14.8 million to GH¢5 million.
The Herald has uncovered fresh details of the transactions at the center of an Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) investigation into an alleged GH¢9.85 million financial loss to the state by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP.
The investigation has also brought the name of another legislator, the MP for Suame, John Darko, into the ownership trail of Equity Savings and Loans Company Limited, the company whose indebtedness to SIC Life is at the centre of the investigation.
According to information gathered by The Herald, SIC Life had invested in Equity Savings and Loans, with the outstanding amount rising from about GH¢5 million to approximately GH¢6.3 million by 2020. This ballooned to over GH¢14 million as of 2024.
Sarkodie Baffour Awuah and Partners, the law firm of Nana Baffour Awuah, was subsequently engaged by SIC Life to recover the money through the courts. Under the terms of the engagement executed in May 2020, the law firm was entitled to charge 15 percent of the GH¢6.3 million debt, amounting to approximately GH¢945,000.
The firm subsequently submitted an invoice for an initial payment, requesting 20 percent of the agreed professional fee, together with a one percent administrative fee.
A cheque dated 5 May 2020 was subsequently issued, with GH¢285,000 paid to the law firm as an initial payment on account.
The legal action eventually resulted in a judgment in favour of SIC Life in 2022. By then, the amount owed by Equity Savings and Loans had risen to approximately GH¢10.7 million, including interest.
As the company was unable to settle the judgment debt, proceedings were initiated to attach its assets.
One of the major properties identified was a 31.93-acre parcel of land at Oyibi, which was subsequently valued at approximately GH¢25 million by an auctioneer appointed by the court.
Another property at Ashongman was also identified, although it was not valued.
The Herald understands that the auctioneer told EOCO investigators that potential buyers had been identified and were ready to purchase the Oyibi property. However, the recovery process subsequently took an unexpected turn at the behest of the Baffour Awuah.
By April 2024, Equity Savings and Loans had paid only GH¢1 million towards the debt, which had by then risen to approximately GH¢14.8 million.
It was against this background that ECO Swiss Investment Limited suddenly emerged as a claimant to the Oyibi property.
On 17 July 2024, ECO Swiss Investment Limited filed an interpleader application at the court, claiming ownership of the Oyibi property and asserting that Equity Savings and Loans had sold the property to it for GH¢21.5 million.
An interpleader is a legal procedure through which a party claiming an interest in property or money asks the court to determine competing claims to the asset.
However, documents and information obtained by The Herald indicate that only one day later, on 18 July 2024, SIC Life, represented by Baffour Awuah, and ECO Swiss Investment Limited entered into a settlement agreement.
Under the agreement, the debt of approximately GH¢14.8 million was reduced to GH¢5 million, described as a full and final settlement.
The GH¢5 million was to be paid over one year.
The arrangement is now under scrutiny in the EOCO investigation because it effectively reduced the amount recoverable by SIC Life by approximately GH¢9.85 million.
The settlement agreement also provided for a suspicious fee to be paid to Sarkodie Baffour Awuah and Partners.
The Herald understands that the 15 percent professional fee was calculated on the original judgment debt of approximately GH¢14.8 million, rather than the GH¢5 million ultimately agreed as the settlement amount for SIC-Life.
That calculation produced the GH¢2.2 million from ECO Swiss, although ECO Swiss Investment Limited was not a client of Baffour Awuah and his law firm, but merely a third party claiming ownership of the 31.93-acre parcel of land at Oyibi.
Thus, while SIC-Life was to receive GH¢5 million over a period of one year, the law firm representing it was to receive its professional fee within three months, by 31 October 2024.
The arrangement has become a major point of interest for EOCO investigators, particularly because the GH¢2.2 million fee was calculated on the original GH¢14.8 million debt rather than the amount actually recovered under the settlement.
The settlement is also being examined against the background of SIC Life’s corporate governance arrangements at the time.
The Herald has learnt that SIC Life did not have a functioning board when the settlement was reached.
The company’s then-Managing Director, Amma Frimpomaa Dwumah, submitted her resignation in May 2024, effective 31 July 2024. By the time she left, Baffour’s settlement had taken effect.
According to information available to The Herald, the managing director’s authority to approve transactions without board approval was limited to GH¢150,000.
EOCO investigators are therefore examining whether she had the requisite authority to enter into a settlement involving millions of Ghana cedis without approval from the appropriate board or subcommittee.
The legality and authority of the transaction are among the issues being investigated.
The circumstances surrounding the emergence of ECO Swiss Investment Limited have also become a major focus of the investigation.
EOCO is said to be examining the company’s ownership structure and the identity of the persons behind the claim that the Oyibi property belonged to it.
Investigators are also seeking to establish why Equity Savings and Loans did not disclose during the earlier court proceedings that it had allegedly sold the property to ECO Swiss.
The fact that ECO Swiss filed its interpleader on 17 July 2024 and entered into a settlement with SIC Life the following day, July 18, has also attracted investigative attention.
Another transaction under scrutiny is a GH¢1 million cheque issued by Baffour Awuah to the former managing director of SIC-Life in November 2024.
The Herald understands that, when questioned by investigators, Baffour Awuah was unable to satisfactorily explain the purpose of the payment.
There was also an earlier payment of GH¢1 million towards the GH¢5 million settlement. That payment, made on 31 December 2024, after the general election, is said to have come from Baffour Awuah’s law firm, despite the settlement involving ECO Swiss Investment Limited and Equity Savings and Loans. The cheque was expected to come from Equity Savings and Loans.
EOCO is examining the source of the funds and the circumstances in which the lawyer representing SIC Life became involved in making payments towards the settlement obligation.
The remaining amount under the GH¢5 million settlement was subsequently paid in 2025, according to information available to The Herald.
The investigation has also led investigators to the ownership of Equity Savings and Loans.
The Herald understands that EOCO is seeking to establish the ultimate ownership of the company and has conducted searches as part of its investigation. The name of John Darko, MP for Suame, has reportedly appeared in connection with an EOCO search relating to the ownership of Equity Savings and Loans.
It is not immediately clear whether Mr Darko has been invited by EOCO or questioned in connection with the investigation.
His name appearing in the ownership-related documents has, however, prompted investigators to examine his connection, if any, with Equity Savings and Loans and the transactions under investigation.
The appearance of Mr Darko’s name does not, in itself, establish wrongdoing or criminal liability.
The Herald understands that the former SIC Life Managing Director, Amma Frimpomaa Dwumah, has already appeared before EOCO.
Sources at EOCO told The Herald that Ms Dwumah reported herself to the Office on Monday, October 5, 2026, following an invitation to assist with investigations into transactions allegedly undertaken during her tenure.
Investigators are examining several aspects of the transactions, including the speed with which the ECO Swiss claim was resolved, the reduction of the debt from approximately GH¢14.8 million to GH¢5 million, the basis for calculating the legal fee, and the authority of SIC Life management to approve the settlement.
Questions have also been raised about how a property valued at approximately GH¢25 million became the subject of a settlement that left SIC Life with only GH¢5 million, despite a debt of approximately GH¢14.8 million.
The Herald understands that investigators are also examining several payments allegedly connected to the transaction.
These are said to include approximately GH¢280,000 in legal fees paid by SIC Life to Nana Baffour Awuah and his law firm, GH¢600,000 allegedly received from Equity Savings and Loans, and approximately GH¢2.2 million allegedly paid by ECO Swiss.
The investigation is expected to establish the circumstances surrounding each payment and whether it was authorized and properly accounted for.
Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah was granted GH¢10 million bail by the High Court in Accra on Saturday, October 3, 2026. The court directed him to provide two sureties, who are the MPs for Bosome Freho and Effia, and ordered him to deposit his passport with the Court Registry.
The MP pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, causing the state a financial loss of GH¢9.85 million, and money laundering, arising from alleged financial transactions involving SIC Life Savings and Loans.
The court, presided over by Justice Charity Akosua Asem, a Court of Appeal Judge sitting with additional responsibility as a High Court Judge, also directed the MP to make himself available to EOCO whenever required for investigations.
The prosecution, led by Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai, did not oppose bail but urged the court to impose conditions that would ensure the accused remained available to investigators and the court.
Dr Srem-Sai told the court that EOCO had made several attempts to secure Nana Baffour Awuah’s attendance during the investigation.
Counsel for the MP, Samuel Atta Akyea, argued that his client was not a flight risk and was unlikely to interfere with investigations.
The court directed the prosecution to file its disclosures by October 22, 2026, to enable a Case Management Conference on November 2, 2026.
The allegations remain the subject of investigation and court proceedings. The emergence of Mr Darko’s name in the ownership inquiry does not, by itself, establish any wrongdoing on his part, while Nana Baffour Awuah is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.
