Accused Rips Into SFO Chief's Evidence

THE fast track Court yesterday got an earful from the fourth accused Dr. George Sipa Yankey when he attempted to shred the evidence of the prosecution's 20th and final witness Mr. Theophilus Cudjoe (PW20) describing it as totally unprofessional, misleading and actuated by malice.

With the aid of a presentation equipment, operated by two orderlies, a white board and a microphone to facilitate his 'lecture', Dr. Yankey, former President of the Ecowas Bank for International Development and currently out of job, explained the composition of the loan, and demonstrated to the court how misinformed Cudjoe was about banking.

He also explained that the second loan of $12million advanced to Quality Grain Company had been properly utilized for the project.

He posited that Cudjoe misled the court because he failed to even factor in what the actual loan size was and what constituted arrangement fee of 4.1 per cent (equivalent to $248,330) that went directly to Exim Bank (which lent them funds for equipment).

Yankey explained that the actual loan was 85 per cent of the facility of $7million which is $5,950,000.00, contrary to the figures presented by Cudjoe which was $6.198million.

Cudjoe, he explained, even added promissory notes issued to back the loan to the quantum of the cost of the project.

The loan size, therefore, shot up and exceeded $7million because of an additional $1.2million, a faulty and misleading figure but one that hyped things up and created more disaffection to the accused persons in the media.

Turning to the $12 million loan, he explained that there was a non-refundable fee of $720,000 deducted from the loan which was not even factored in the figure presented by the prosecution.

There was also the sum of $888,824.91.00 representing the first payment which the bank (South Trust Bank) charged to the $12 million facility and duly deducted.

The figures beamed onto to white board in the court room plus explanations from the fourth accused indicated that there was confirmation from Agricultural Development Bank that Quality Grain Ltd had transferred $2,065,559.00 to meet project costs in Ghana (working capital, salaries, gas oil etc).

When those figures are added to the IDF (Import Declaration Form) value of $9 million worth of goods presented by the prosecution, that neatly adds up to $12,674,383.11.

That means that the loan was fully utilized, Yankey submitted.

Continuing on the first facility, Yankey noted that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) of which Mr. Theophilus Cudjoe was Head of Investigations had already been supplied with figures on expenses but that he had not supplied those to the relevant bodies in Ghana.

"If PW20 came here and took an oath and said nothing about it, then it is unfair to the court, unfair to the Attorney General and certainly to us", submitted Dr. Yankey, who was formerly the Head of Legal Section at the Ministry of Finance.

He said even on banking arrangements made for the project, Cudjoe's rendition to the court was 'another excellent display of ignorance in banking.'

Asked by his counsel whether the breakdown in the disbursement for equipment only factored in fees and salaries, Dr. Yankey answered in the negative, saying that only $96,000.00 remained after and that meant funds from elsewhere had to be found to proceed with the project.

Clearly painted by the evidence of PW20 who he emphasized was in possession of documents on the disbursements made on the Quality Grain project, he wondered why PW20 (Cudjoe) decided to hide this from the Attorney General.

A clearly agitated Yankey told the court presided over by Mr. Justice Afreh that "this one is, with all due respect, out of malice".

It is the unprofessional and poor job of investigation that was done by PW20 (Cudjoe and his SFO) that had gotten us here, he remarked.

He briefly also submitted that the group from Arkansas who had come to talk about the project in court had been lobbying to have the project withdrawn from Mrs. Cotton so that they could be given the job.