Selormey faces another charge

Victor Selormey, former Deputy Finance Minister, on Wednesday appeared before a Circuit Tribunal in Accra charged with causing loss by carelessness to public property.

He is alleged to have caused the transfer of 68,000 dollars to Leebda Corporation of USA as consultancy fees and also transferring 45,000 dollars to LEXDEV International for the purchase of a vehicle.

Selormey, who pleaded not guilty, told the tribunal that his counsel, Mr Johnny Quarshie-Idun, could not be reached after they had left the Fast Track Court and prayed for adjournment.

The tribunal, chaired by Mr Ziblim Imoru, granted him 200 million cedis bail with one surety to be justified.

But Selormey returned to court with another counsel, Mr Attah Mensah, who pleaded with the tribunal to reduce the bail bond. The request was granted and the bail was reduced to 100 million cedis. He will reappear on October 8.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Patrick Sarpong said in February 1998 Selormey caused the Metropolitan and Allied Bank, Ghana, to transfer 45,000 dollars to Messrs Lexdev International, USA, also known as Leebda Corporation owned by Dr Frederick Owusu Boadu, his friend.

The money was for payment of a vehicle bought by the state under the Trade and Investment Programme (TIP) but which the invoice quoted 38,301 dollars as the total cost of the vehicle together with all other expenses including freight.

The accused nevertheless caused 45,000 dollars to be transferred for the purchase of the vehicle. Between August and December 1998, the prosecution said, Selormey again caused the transfer to the same company of 68,000 dollars as payment of consultancy fees.

The government at that time had wanted to study how to make the private sector competitive through legislative and administrative reforms.

The prosecution said the accused quickly and quietly contracted Lexdev also known as Leebda to prepare a consultancy contract without allowing any government epresentative to see the contract that normally should have been studied by the legal department of the ministry.

The case was detected in April this year when the accused was out of office and a report was made to the police for investigation.

The investigations revealed that Selormey was careless in over paying for the vehicle as well as paying for what he termed ''consultancy fees'' for preparation of a contract when no work was done.

Meanwhile, the Fast Track High Court (FTHC) trying Selormey for alleged financial impropriety on Wednesday adjourned to October 3.

Mr Justice Sam Baddoo, the presiding judge, said the adjournment had become necessary because an appeal filed by Selormey against certain interlocutory orders the court made needed to be determined first by the Court of Appeal.

On September 12, the Appeal Court presided over by Mr Justice Kwame Afreh ordered that the FTHC stayed proceedings pending the determination of Selormey's appeal.

The former deputy Finance Minister has pleaded not guilty to six counts of conspiracy, defrauding by false pretences and wilfully causing financial loss to the state in connection with a court computerisation project.

He is alleged to have conspired with Dr Owusu Boadu, a US-based Ghanaian, to fraudulently cause the loss of 1,297,500 dollars to the state. The court has granted him 1.5 billion cedis bail with two sureties to be justified.