Selormey Gets Eight Years With Hard labour

Victor Selormey, a former Deputy Finance Minister in the NDC government has been sentenced to eight years imprisonment with hard labour. Selormey was on Monday found guilty on two counts of defrauding the state by false pretences.

The Fast Track Court, presided over by Mr Justice Sam Baddoo, fined him 10 million cedis each on two counts of conspiracy. He would go to prison for 12 months in default and the sentences are to run concurrently.

In addition, Selormey is to pay a fine of 10 million cedis each on two counts of wilfully causing financial loss of 1,297.5 million dollars to the state and in default to serve additional 12 months. The sentences are to run concurrently.

The court ordered that the state should take civil action to recover the amount from Selormey and Dr Frederick Owusu Boadu of Leebda Corporation in Texas in the United States (US).

In his 120-minute judgement, Mr Justice Baddaoo, an Appeal Court Judge, sitting as an additional High Court Judge, summed up the evidence of nine prosecution witnesses and 11 defence witnesses and concluded that the prosecution proved its case beyond all reasonable doubt.

He said the defence put up by Selormey did not give answer to the charges against him and that the CD-ROM and a contract document which he signed with Dr Boadu for provision of consultancy services "was intended to throw dust into the eyes of the court".

The court said there was enough evidence that there was no contract signed between the Ministry of Finance and Leebda for provision of consultancy services for the Court Computerisation Project of the Judicial Service.

Mr Justice Baddoo said it was on record that no work was done in respect of the contract, which Selormey signed with Dr Boadu and added that the CD-ROM was never mentioned in the contract. "Selormey's defence that the CD-ROM was produced as a result of the contract cannot, therefore, be reasonably probable."

Mr Justice Baddoo said Selormey in his evidence, said he signed a contract with Dr Boadu without any witness and wondered how a document on an official project involving more than one million dollars could be treated as such.

He said it was on record that the accused wrote two separate letters authorising ECOBANK to transfer the amount from the accounts of Trade and Investment Programme (TIPS) to Leebda.

The court said it was further on record that the letters did not bear reference numbers neither was it registered at the office before they were dispatched.

The judge said even Selormey's witness, Mr Kwame Peprah, former Finance Minister, testified that he was not aware that the ministry signed any contract on the project with Leebda.

There was evidence, Mr Justice Baddoo said, that an audited accounts of TIPS stated that there was no justification for Selormey to authorise the payment of the amount for no work done.

The court said "with these pieces of evidence" it found the accused guilty on all the charges.

Before passing sentence, counsel for Selormey, Mr Johnny Quashie-Idun pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy and not to give custodial sentence to his client due to ill health.

He said the sentence must aim at reforming the accused rather than being a punishment. Counsel indicated that the defence would appeal against the judgement because it contained "a lot of mistakes".

The case for the prosecution was that sometime in 1998, Selormey caused the amount to be paid to Leebda for consultancy services on the Court Computerisation Programme.

Investigations, however, showed that there was no official contract for that project and that the accused and Dr Boadu conspired and fraudulently defrauded the state as a result of which, the state incurred financial loss.

Selormey has been facing trial for the greater part of this year at the Fast Track Court on six counts of conspiracy, defrauding by false pretences and willfully causing financial loss to the state.

He is the second minister jailed since the Kufuor administration took office 11 months ago. The first person was former Youth and Sports Minister, Mallam Yusif Isa, who is serving a four-year-prison-term for causing financial loss to the state.

Ms Gloria Akuffo, Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and Mr Osafo Sampong, Director of Public Prosecution led the prosecution.