£350,000 is nothing to Asantehene - Lawyer

Private legal practitioner, Nana Yaw Osei, has waded into the raging controversy over claims the King of the Ashanti Kingdom, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has allegedly been involved in a £350,000 money laundering.

He observed that the King is worth more than the stated amount and therefore called on Ghanaians to desist from acts aimed at denigrating the image of the King.

According to him, the account as reported by the Telegraph leaves much to be desired and as such want those believing the report to rethink since there flaws in what has been presented.

“What’s £350,000 and $200,000 to an Asantehene? The world over money laundering is a criminal offence! Is somebody standing trial in London for money laundering? The answer is NO!

So, why this senseless noise about the Asantehene allegedly being involved in money laundering?

Who is out there to tarnish the image of the Asantehene? Please, let put on our thinking caps and be reasonable!” he advised.

Background

A story published by the UK-based The Telegraph has cited the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, for allegedly laundering an amount of £200,000 and $200,000 in cash.

The King, according to the report, was said to have summoned Mr Arthur to his home in Henley-On-Thames and handed him a bag containing the said amounts £200,000 and $200,000 in US currency with consecutive serial numbers.

However, the subsequent deposit of the cash at the Ghana International Bank triggered a money laundering alert in the City of London and Mr Arthur was suspended and then sacked following the incident, after an investigation by outside accountants Grant Thornton.

He is, however, claiming wrongful dismissal, unfair dismissal and failure to protect a whistleblower.

In his witness statement, in the case which is currently ongoing, Mr Arthur said he was not able to follow anti-money laundering rules when he accepted the cash because of the king’s status.