EOCO returned docket on Cecilia Dapaah’s case long ago – OSP discloses

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has called out the Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Maame Yaa Tiwa Addo-Danquah, following her statement that her office would be returning the docket on the case of the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah, who was investigated by the OSP of corruption and money laundering.

According to the Director of Strategy, Research, and Communications at the OSP, Samuel Appiah Darko, Tiwa Addo-Danquah was not being factual when she said her office was going to return the docket on the case of the former minister.

He said that EOCO had returned the docket long ago, citing the advise given to it by the Office of the Attorney General.

“Let me start with what EOCO said yesterday [Monday, May 6] that they were going to return the docket to the OSP; that is not accurate.

“They have long returned the docket to us with an explanation that they have been advised by the AG [Attorney General] not to investigate. But remember, we did not say to prosecute, [but to] investigate, and so I don’t understand why EOCO will say they are now going to return the docket to OSP,” he is quoted to have said.

Appiah Darko is also reported to have said that EOCO's decision to drop Cecilia Dapaah’s case was because it did not want to investigate and prosecute her.

He said that EOCO should stop blaming the OSP for its decision and tell Ghanaians the truth.

“The second point I want to make is this whole idea that the docket that the OSP sent to EOCO was baseless, and if you will indulge me, I am going to be a bit detailed, although we are not supposed to do this. But our point is that if there is no appetite to want to investigate and prosecute, tell the people of Ghana that there is no appetite, but don’t try to put the blame on the OSP,” he added.

Background:

The OSP closed its case against the former minister and her husband, Daniel Osei Kufuor, who were accused of corruption and corruption-related offences after two of their house helps allegedly stole $1 million and €300,000 in cash, along with other valuable items from their residence in Abelemkpe.

The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, concluded that his office lacked the authority to prosecute or take further action against the former minister and referred the case to EOCO.

The referral was based on the suspicion that the large sums of money found at Cecilia Dapaah’s properties and bank accounts could be the proceeds of a money laundering and structuring scheme.

The Attorney General, Godfred Dame, in advice to the EOCO boss on how to proceed with Cecilia Dapaah’s case, said "The OSP's referral to EOCO for investigations to be conducted into money laundering is without basis."

He also said that there was no evidence of corruption or procurement breaches against the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources and her husband, Daniel Osei Kufuor.

"A study of the docket from the OSP and the report by your office indicates that: a. investigations by the OSP did not establish any evidence of corruption, corruption-related offences, or procurement breaches against the suspects; b. the OSP has returned money and other properties retrieved from the suspects in the course of their investigations to them, and the suspects have been accordingly discharged by the OSP," parts of a letter Dame wrote to Tiwa Addo-Danquah, which was sighted by GhanaWeb, read.

Tiwa Addo-Danquah on Monday, May 6, 2024, stated that her office will be returning the dockets it received from the OSP.

Speaking to the media at the 14th Commonwealth Regional Conference of Heads of Anti-corruption Agencies in Africa, Tiwa Addo-Danquah indicated that EOCO could not proceed with the investigation because there was nothing to find.

She suggested that her office would be embarking on a mere fishing expedition if it continued with the investigation, according to citinewsroom.com reports.

She added that state institutions must be bold and tell Ghanaians the truth if they are wrong in any of their investigations.

"If you read the Attorney-General's advice, whatever we would have done has already been directed at the Police CID. And as he said this morning, when you investigate a case and do not find anything, we should be bold enough to come and tell the public that for this case, even though I suspected this at the outset, that wasn't what came out; we should be bold with the Ghanaian.

"So, we cannot continue to fish when you don't even know what you are looking for. You just go about looking for something that you know you are not even sure of," she is quoted as having said.

The EOCO boss added, "So, what I am going to do is that, with the Attorney-General's advice, I will send the docket that we received from the OSP back to him, confirming that there is nothing in it."

BAI/AE

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