Selormey and Abodakpi for court

Barely a month after he began his 8-year-jail-term, former deputy finance minister, Victor Selormey is to face yet another trial, but this time with a former colleague, Dan Abodakpi MP for Keta.

There seems to be no respite for Selormey who was recently reported ill in prison, “The Daily Guide” reports. Selormey will soon be brought from his Nsawam base to face prosecution at the Fast Track Court No.2 in Accra to answer some other fresh charges leveled against him.

According to Daily Guide reports, the former deputy minister collapsed in prison on New Year’s Day and was resuscitated by the prisons medical team at Nsawam. Selormey this time, is alleged to have conspired and colluded with Mr. Abodakpi, former minister for Trade and Industry and allegedly siphoned an amount of $400, 000, the equivalent of ?2.8 billion from Ghana’s Trade and Investment Programme (TIP).

The Trade Ministry administered the TIP programme with supervision from the ministry of finance. The ?2.8 billion was part of a total amount of 2.7 million dollars granted by the US government through its international agency, the USAID about four years ago.

Court sources according to the Daily Guide say the docket on the two is ready at the Attorney-General’s department. Additional information gathered by the paper says apart from the Leebda Corporation’s courts computerization case involving the fraudulent transfer of more than $1.2 million over which Selormey was jailed for eight years and fined ?20 million, this is a fresh charge for which he will be standing trial.

Three other dockets on Selormey’s exploits at the Ministries of Finance and Trade and Industry are being prepared at the A-G’s department.

Meanwhile, Mr. Selormey is expected to be brought to court on what legal experts describe as “Seriatim trial of the period” after the erstwhile NDC government had failed to institute action to prevent fraudulent appropriation of public funds, the paper says.

The $400, 000 was allegedly transferred to Dr. Frederick Boadu, the same man to whom Mr. Selormey said he transferred an amount of $1.2 million over the 1997 courts computerization project, which he has been jailed.

Chief Executive of Leebda Corporation, Dr. Boadu, and a former lecturer of the Texas O&M University is alleged to be one who paid he school fees of the daughters of Selormey and Abodakpi in the US.

The payment was made in four separate transfers, which were effected closely to the end of December 2000, it has been alleged. It is also alleged that the $400, 000 to Dr. Boadu was transferred on authorization by Selormey to Dr. Boadu’s local account through ECOBANK Ghana Limited variously on October 18, November 3, December 15 and December 29, 2000.

The transfers were in tranches of ?280 million; ?300 million; ?115.6 million and ?2.066 million, without official correspondence whatsoever between Dr. Boadu. Neither did it have official backing of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Guide found.

“From the foregoing therefore, the transfers are clear evidence that the contract was tainted with fraud as it was not witnessed by the legal officers at the Trade Ministry not was it witnessed by the Attorney-General’s Office.”

According to the Daily Guide, information has it that the two – Selormey and Abodakpi transferred the $400, 000 to their US friend, Dr. Boadu. The two, according to sources, are alleged to have further conspired to divert project funds meant for on-lending to on-lending to non-traditional goods exporting companies in the country to pay alleged consultancy fees to Dr. Boadu.

The investigation according to sources, have established that the consultancy fees which Selormey and Abodakpi claimed to have paid to Dr. Boadu, had already been paid for by the Gateway Services Secretariat (GSL) on behalf of the Trade and Industry Ministry.