Cadman Mills pursues Blay Miezah money

Attempt by government to retrieve billions of dollars which was said to have been invested by Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah at the United Bank of Switzerland, has taken a new turn.

When all was set for delegation appointed by the Atta Mills government to go and access the fun, a group of Americans and a family member of the late Mr. Blay Miezah, the sole trustee of the fund, have sent a warning to the delegation, reminding them that they are the owners of the fund.

This has halted the trip which was supposed to be headed by Dr Cadman Mills, and sponsored by Mr Gregory Freizer, who claims to have the password to the fund's account.

The Chronicle also gathered that the current account of the investment, known as the Oman Ghana Trust Fund, has accrued to $41billion while the investment accrued was hitting over trillions of dollars after an initial $360million was invested.

In reaction to the new development, the leader of a group known as Friends of Oman Ghana Trust Funds (FOGTF), Mr. Kobla Asmani told The Chronicle that government must disregard claims made by a family member of Blay-Miezah which resulted in the trip being aborted, since he has been doing that consistently, whenever any government shows interest in retrieving the funds.

''The Friends of Oman Ghana Trust Fund has received with great concern, dismay and disappointment about the recent action of some personalities who have allegedly decided to deceive the Government of the Republic of Ghana into believing that the Oman Ghana Trust Fund belongs to the Late Dr. Ackah Blay Meizier's family," he stressed.

He said in 1997, some white men made efforts to retrieve the funds however they were thrown on of the Swiss bank.

"The trust documents indicate that the sitting President is the sole trustee of the Oman Ghana Trust Fund, but the President can designate anybody to be in charge, as the Late Dr. Ackah Blay Meizah deceived the Late General Acheampong to make him the sole trustee since 1975 to date,” Mr. Asmani maintained.

He noted that when Mr Freizer was informed about the move by some personalities to retrieve the fund, he went to Switzerland together with former President Rawlings' cousin, Mr. Michael Soussoudis, to meet the President of the bank.

“The President of the bank introduced the duo to the Head of the Legal Department, Mr. Georges Peterman who queried why the government of Ghana had allowed some people to claim ownership of the fund,'" Mr. Asmani stated.

He indicated that in order to retrieve the funds, the government had to delegate a person who is at least 65 years and has a diplomatic passport to go to the bank together with Mr. Freizer who has the code number and the code word required by the bank.

He said on April 22, this year, at a meeting with Dr. Mills at the Castle, he directed Mr. Freizer to submit a draft agreement of his demands for the help, which he has done and the team was about to embark on the trip, until it was thwarted at the last minute by a member of Blay Miezah’s family.

“We are ready to march anybody who wants to be an impediment in our way to achieve this laudable team boot by boot, tooth by tooth, since we are battle ready to bring this money down to the good people of Ghana in order to relieve them from poverty, the global financial crunch, high spate of graduate unemployment, unprecedented increase in the level of brain drain, lack of access to quality education and health care, and to build a better Ghana for all," he reiterated.

When Dr. Mills was contacted by the paper, he said the President charged him to look at the statements that Mr Freizer had made about the fund and present his opinion to the President.

He said Mr Freizer initially created the impression that he was doing the transaction just to help the country to retrieve the funds, but he later demanded too much “before he will give the money to Ghana."

He however said he has been approached by names that were too many to mention, who were also making claims of ownership, adding that "this thing is one of the biggest jobs that I have been approached by so many people with all sorts of proposals."