The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) of the Asante Akim North constituency, has observed that the apparent turf war witnessed between state institutions in Cecilia Dapaah’s alleged money laundering case, is unfortunate.
He is shocked that all the state institutions; the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) and Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), clothed with the powers to investigate the matter, are busily involved in blame-shifting.
Andy Appiah-Kubi, said it is worrying to witness state institutions mandated to fight corruption engage in shifting blame onto one another, adding that the alleged money laundering case involving the former Sanitation Minister should not be politicized.
“In most cases, when issues of national interest come up, the best way to dissolve it is to make it partisan, so that it becomes a war between supporters of this party and supporters of that party,” he said on The Key Points, last Saturday, May 18.
Lawyer Appiah-Kubi, maintained that such an attitude kills “the initiatives that people bring to the fore,” stressing that the case of the former Sanitation Minister has no political colours.
Mr Appiah-Kubi, one of the petitioners asking the Speaker of Parliament to constitute a bipartisan probe into EOCO’s conduct in Cecilia Dapaah’s alleged money laundering case, emphasized that EOCO, should have investigated the matter.
“To be honest with you, investigations are instigated by suspicions and when you suspect something, it doesn’t automatically mean the person you suspect against is guilty but we have to start investigations. My worry is that all state institutions mandated to investigate matters of this nature, they are all shifting blame onto one another, it is a source of worry.
“It means that the state institutions don’t know the extent of their jurisdiction and that they will even engage in this turf war which is very unnecessary,” he stressed.
The Asante Akim North lawmaker, further noted that the extra-judicial commentaries surrounding the case have not been helpful, citing the President’s remarks in a letter to the former Minister upon receipt of Madam Dapaah’s resignation letter.
President Akufo-Addo, in a letter dated July 22, 2023, acknowledging Madam Dapaah’s resignation, noted, among other things, that he is confident that “at the end of the day, your integrity whilst in office will be fully established.”
“The extra-judicial pronouncements…the President’s statement upon receipt of the resignation was needless, and I still stand by that. We are getting to a position where people are even making references to that statement as the prediction that state institutions have been encouraged to justify.”
“If that statement didn’t come, where will this so-called justification have been met? So it was unnecessary,” he emphasised.
Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu, who was on the programme expressed confidence in Parliament to probe EOCO’s actions in handling the alleged money laundering case involving the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources.
Mr Kpebu and some prominent Ghanaians, including former Auditor-General, Daniel Yao Domelevo, have filed a petition to Parliament seeking a bipartisan probe into the conduct of EOCO in the investigation regarding the stash of money found in the residence of Madam Cecelia Dapaah.
According to the petitioners, EOCO had more than enough basis to investigate the former Minister for money laundering, as she has been inconsistent and unable to provide the source over the huge amount of money seized at her residence by the Special Prosecutor.
Following an advice from the office of the Attorney-General, the Executive Director of EOCO, COP Maame Tiwa Addo-Danquah, stated in a statement on May 7 that the docket on Madam Dapaah was returned to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) on May 3, 2024, indicating that there was nothing to investigate after a careful assessment of the docket.
Mr Kpebu, accused Madam Tiwaa Addo-Danquah of covering up corrupt officials.
He maintained that Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng must be celebrated for blowing the whistle on an alleged money laundering case against the former minister for EOCO to investigate.
“For Kissi [Agyebeng] to have done this and then EOCO looks at it and says that I can’t make a head or tail of this when the evidence is there in plain sight, what is the income of Madam Dapaah to match this colossal sum of in her house? Then you are running around trying to throw dust into our eyes and that is why we want EOCO to be held.
“We will never forget that Madam Tiwaa has such a bad profile of protecting President Akufo-Addo and his appointees. That is how come there is only one conclusion that this one too she tossed the case just to protect President Akufo-Addo.”
“So we want Parliament to set up a bipartisan committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding how EOCO reneged on its statutory duties to investigate the money laundering allegations.”
Meanwhile, the petition, which was received by the secretary to Speaker Bagbin on Thursday, May 16, stated, among other concerns, that “the failure to explain the source of the money should have been the cornerstone of the investigation,” by EOCO.
It also raised concerns about what the group described as the deliberate refusal by EOCO to take steps to protect the money that had been seized from the residence of the former minister by the OSP.
“Upon receipt of the docket, EOCO did not act timeously to seize the money that the OSP was returning to Madam Cecelia Dapaa as publicly stated by the OSP”.
The petition also said EOCO has been inconsistent with their public commentary and actions in the investigation.
