Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) reapplied to a High Court in Accra seeking an order to freeze some bank accounts and a confirmation of seizure of some monies it had seized weeks back from the residence of embattled former sanitation minister, Cecilia Dapaah.
Multiple local media portals have cited an 8-page court document (September 19) in which the OSP spells out a number of discoveries it had made relative to the seized funds which amounts to about US$590,000 and over GH¢2.8 million in cash.
Various amounts in local and foreign denominated currencies were also frozen in multiple accounts belonging to the embattled minister.
A number of new information has been disclosed by the OSP as part of its case in the seizure and freezing application which was turned down by the court weeks back.
GhanaWeb looks at five major bombshell disclosures by the OSP
Cecilia Dapaah into real estate business with alias
The OSP shone light on a number of businesses the former minister was supposedly into, which businesses it said, she used as part of the defence she has allegedly mounted in terms of the source of some of the monies in her home.
“The OSP’s criminal intelligence further suggested that the first respondent, as a Minister of State, was engaged in an undisclosed and undeclared real estate business in which she obscured and concealed the transactions by employing the use of aliases to avoid detection of the actual ownership of the business and properties, while cleverly receiving the proceeds of the transactions in her bank accounts and investments.”
The document also revealed that “criminal intelligence suggested that the first respondent had unexplained large cash sums of money (far above her income as a Minister of State) secreted and stashed up in her residence; and that her house-helps had allegedly helped themselves to part of said sums of money through larceny.”
No concrete source of funds allegedly stolen from her home:
Relating the findings to the original case where her two househelps are said to have stolen a million dollars, and hundreds of thousands of monies in euros and Ghana cedis; the OSP said there was no evidence of the source of the stolen funds.
“There are no financial records and traces of the origin(s) of the money reportedly stolen from the residence of the respondents and the money discovered by the OSP at said residence.
“Further, there is no evidence of the amounts of money having been derived from any legitimate businesses, profession or vocation, and no evidence of said amounts having been lawfully declared and subjected to any statutory payments.
“During the search conducted in her presence, the first respondent disavowed and claimed no knowledge of the presence of the said cash sums in the residence. The conduct of the first respondent, being a public officer, heightened the suspicion of the authorised officers of the OSP that the cash sums were tainted property.”
How monies were allegedly concealed
The July 24, 2023 search at her Abelemkpe residence led to the discovery of cash sums of $590,000 and ¢2862,007, the OSP told the court.
Further searches were conducted in two other residential properties of the sacked Minister in Cantonments and Tesano, all in Accra.
“The monies were craftily concealed in wraps, polythene bags, clothes, 32 envelopes, and were buried and secreted in obscure places in the residence, some with labels and descriptions,” the Office said.
Dead brother’s account sending minister money
In the wake of the one miliion dollar alleged theft, the former minister is on record to have confirmed to the OSP that 800,000 of the sum belonged to her dead brother.
The OSP said the dead brother’s account was as recent as May 2023 still sending monies to Ms. Dapaah’s account, which have been frozen as of now.
“Analysis of the statements in the first respondent’s (Cecilia Dapaah) bank account revealed highly suspicious transactions involving the name of the first respondent’s deceased brother – Nana Akwasi Essan.
“The said Nana Akwasi Essan died in January 2022 and there is no record domiciled at the financial institutions of probate or letters of administration granted to personal representatives). Strangely, there are active transfers from the deceased person’s bank account to that of the first respondent’s account,” parts of the documents filed is quoted by myjoyonline.com.
It added that “as recently as September 19, 2022, and May 23, amounts of ¢10,450 and ¢11,280 respectively were transferred, supposedly by the deceased brother to the first respondent (Cecilia Dapaah).”
Cecilia Dapaah reduces one million stolen by US$590,000
Cecilia Dapaah in statements to the OSP has reduced the amount of money allegedly stolen by her house helps last year.
The initial report and court filing against the house helps states that an amount of one million dollars as well as thousands of euros and Ghana cedis were stolen at her Abelemkpe residence.
In the OSP’s filing in court, it turns out that the minister has reduced the figure by US$590,000, which sum was discovered at the same premises when the OSP conducted a search in her presence at the facility in July.
She said the US$590,000 which was found by the OSP was a part of the one million dollars which was stolen by the eight people who are now standing trial for theft,” a TV3 journalist confirmed.
The OSP found the dollar sum and GH¢2.8 million in cash during the search.
The OSP unfreezed the former minister’s accounts and returned her properties as directed by the court on August 21, the office complied and refroze them again before putting in the current application.
A hearing has been slated for October 18, 2023.
ghanaweb.com
