As part of continuing investigations into suspected financial offenses, government spokeswoman Felix Kwakye Ofosu has revealed that around GH50 million owned by Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, has been frozen.
The Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) has taken measures to seize big sums of money thought to be related to several investigations, the Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese Member of Parliament said in an interview with PM Express on JoyNews on Tuesday.
“For example, in Chairman Wontumi’s case alone, close to ¢50 million of money in his account has been frozen,” he stated.
In other high-profile cases that are now being investigated, similar financial statistics have been found as well, according to Mr. Kwakye Ofosu.
In the case of the former Signals Bureau chief, Adu Boahen, in the National Service case and many other instances, similar characters are implicated, he said.
The action is part of a larger state initiative to identify and protect assets related to suspected corruption and financial malfeasance, he added.
He claims that the current freeze is only one piece of a bigger collection of assets that the government has thus far acquired.
“But for the moment, what they can do is freeze it, and they have done so, 1.5 billion pounds.”
The asset freezes are only temporary measures until the conclusion of the court case, Mr. Kwakye Ofosu emphasized.
He pointed out that the state cannot seize such assets outright until a court determines they were acquired illegally.
“They won’t be able to make a recovery until the individuals involved have been found guilty by a court, at which point the court will either grant you an unlawful mandate to retrieve whatever it is that is claimed to have been stolen or the court will have determined that it has been stolen.”
Additionally, the government spokesperson discussed the previous public discussion over John Mahama’s statements about money seized by EOCO. “In fact, there were those who accused the President of deceiving them when he claimed that EOCO had recovered ¢600 million,” he said.
The President’s figure, according to Mr Kwakye Ofosu, related to the regular investigations carried out by EOCO. “That was with regard to the typical, everyday cases that the EOCO manages. “The agency’s purview, he said, includes a broad spectrum of financial and organized offenses. “Because they deal with issues of money laundering, cybercrime, cross-border crime, carjacking, and what have you.” “Those are typical things that they do.”
However, he claims that the ongoing investigations, which are the subject of public discussion, deal with possible financial offenses and corruption that must first go via legal procedures before any restoration can occur.
The authorities are still attempting to find more assets related to the ongoing investigations, according to Mr Kwakye Ofosu. “This is even for the cases that they have been able to touch, those that they have not touched.” “They are still attempting to identify this asset.”
He said that asset tracing is a common aspect of criminal investigations involving financial offenses. “As you are aware, anyone who is subject to an investigation or prosecution is simultaneously subject to an asset tracing.”
He stated that the goal is to make sure that money thought to have been obtained via criminal activity is protected until cases are over.
“So that we may get as much as possible of what we believe will be commensurate with the amounts involved in offenses that would have been committed.”
About the Author
