Judgment day for Selormey: Dec. 10

The Accra Fast Track Court has fixed Monday, December 10, 2001, for judgment in the case, which Victor Selormey, a former deputy Finance Minister, is facing trial on charges of financial impropriety against the state.

The trial judge, Mr. Justice Sam Baddoo, fixed the date after the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mr. Osafo Sampong, ended his final address to the court.

In his address, Mr. Sampong urged the court to convict the accused on each of the six counts of conspiracy, defrauding by false pretence and willfully causing financial loss to the state, because evidence against the accused person is over-whelming.

According to the DPP, “the defence raised by Selormey was no defence” and invited the trial judge to dismiss it. The DPP stressed that the accused person’s own evidence produced during the trial did not help him at all.

Whereas, Selormey said he signed the contract between himself and Leebda Corporation of United States of America without a witness, the accused later tendered in court a contract document, which had the signature of a witness.

Mr. Sampong further urged the court not to take the evidence of a defence witness, Mr. Dan Abodapki serious. This he explained was because Hon. Abodakpi did not even know how much school fees his daughter who studies in the United States pay per term.

According to the DPP, the issue concerning the CD Rom was irrelevant before the court since the amount of 1.29 million dollars paid to Leebda Corporation was meant for consultancy service of the court computerisation project and not to produce a CD Rom.

He said Selormey signed two letters, which were addressed to the Ecobank authorizing the bank to pay an amount of 1.27 million US dollars to Leebda.

By writing those letters to Ecobank, prosecution said the accused made a false presentation to the bank to pay the amount to Leebda for no work done.

The DPP told the court that a prosecution witness who was a member of the legal sector coordinating committee had testified in court that BMS International carried out the studies on the court computerisation project and submitted a bill, which had been paid.

The prosecution had also led evidence, which said that no contract was signed between the judiciary and Leebda Corporation. The DPP contended that the Head of the Legal Department of the Finance Ministry was also not aware of the two letters Selormey wrote to Ecobank.

These pieces of evidence he said went further to show that a false presentation was made by Selormey to the bank in order to obtain its consent to part with money to Leebda.

On the two counts of conspiracy, the DPP said the accused caused the transfer of 1.29 million dollars to Leebda which he attentioned Dr. Frederick Owusu-Boadu, President of Leebda.