The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, has justified his decision to withdraw the case involving former Finance Minister Dr Kwabena Duffour and seven others, who were facing charges in connection with the collapse of the defunct uniBank.

Speaking at the Government Accountability Series on Monday, July 28, 2025, Dr Ayine first clarified the amount involved in the criminal and civil cases against Dr Duffour and the other accused persons.

“The charges in the criminal case against the accused persons involved a total amount of GH¢1.2 billion, while the civil case involved a total exposure of GH¢5.7 billion. It is important to state for the avoidance of doubt that the total exposure in the criminal case is a part of the total civil case exposure. In other words, the GH¢1.2 billion is not on top of the GH¢5.7 billion.

“Now, the GH¢5.7 billion was made up of the following: GH¢2 billion being loans and advances which uniBank made to related and connected parties, and GH¢3.7 billion being payments made on behalf of or on the instructions of the accused persons,” he explained.

He indicated that out of the total amount, the accused persons have offered to pay GH¢2 billion in full.

He added that the settlement proposal includes the transfer of GH¢800 million worth of assets directly to uniBank, as well as the accused persons’ active cooperation in recovering an additional GH¢1.2 billion from third parties.

“The accused persons offered to pay GH¢2 billion in full and final settlement of the outstanding obligation,” the Attorney General stated.

“This includes GH¢800 million in assets and their cooperation to help the Receiver retrieve another GH¢1.2 billion from direct beneficiaries,” he said.

He added that his decision to accept the offer was based on the fact that the accused persons could not definitively be said to have caused financial loss to the state, and there was a likelihood of the state losing the case and ending up with nothing, just as in the Beige Capital case.

He pointed out that the complex nature of the case has delayed meaningful recoveries and that prolonged litigation could lead to further reduced recoveries due to legal costs, procedural delays, the time value of money, and the concealment of assets.

BAI/MA

Meanwhile, you can also watch videos from the NPP's National Delegates Conference below:
‎