The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) after complying with the High Court’s ruling and order to unfreeze the bank accounts and investments of Ms Cecilia Abena Dapaah, has refrozen same, effective Tuesday, September 5, 2023.
Mr Kissi Agyebeng, the Special Prosecutor, invoked his statutory power under section 38(1) of Act 959 and regulation 19(1) of L.L. 2374 to freeze the accounts of MsDapaah, a former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources.
The Special Prosecutor, in a statement issued on Tuesday, said he considered that he had reasonable grounds to suspect the cash amounts seized from and returned to Ms. Dapaah was tainted property.
Hence it was necessary to exercise the power of seizure to prevent the concealment or loss of the said cash amounts.
Therefore, he has again invoked his statutory powers under section 32(1)(a) of Act 959 by directing the seizure from Ms. Dapaah the cash amounts previously seized and returned.
Authorized officers of the OSP have, thus, seized the said cash amounts from her.
Meanwhile, the OSP said it had complied with the ruling and order of the High Court, Accra dated August 31, 2023, by unfreezing the frozen bank accounts and investments of Ms Dapaah.
It also returned the seized cash sums to Ms Dapaah in the presence of her lawyers.
It said the satisfaction by the OSP of the order of the High Court terminated the proceedings of the seizure of the cash amounts from Ms. Dapaah, commenced on July 24, 2023, and the freezing of her bank accounts and investments effected from 26th July 2023.
It, however, said the investigation by the OSP in respect of Ms. Dapaah for suspected corruption and corruption-related offences involving the ownership and source(s) of large amounts of money associated with her had been and was still ongoing.
The statement said subsequent to the indicated High Court ruling and order and the compliance by the OSP with the said ruling and order, the ongoing investigation of Ms. Dapaah had uncovered varying and sometimes conflicting accounts of the ownership.
It also uncovered conflicting source(s) of the large amounts of money reportedly stolen from her residence, the cash amounts seized from her by the OSP, and the nature and volume of transactions in her bank accounts and investments.
“Consequently, subsequent to the indicated ruling and order of the High Court and the compliance by the OSP with the said ruling and order, the Special Prosecutor considers that freezing the bank accounts and investments of Ms. Dapaah is necessary to facilitate the ongoing investigation,” it said.
Ashantibiz
