Former Member of Parliament for Asante Akim North, Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi, has reacted to the detention of the constituency’s current lawmaker, Ohene Kwame Frimpong, by authorities in the Netherlands, stating that the MP must be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

His comments follow reports that Ohene Kwame Frimpong is being detained at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands over investigations linked to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

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According to details available to GhanaWeb, the investigations are connected to alleged financial crimes, including money laundering and suspected romance scams involving an estimated US$32 million.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with GhanaWeb’s Mandy Agyemang on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, Appiah-Kubi said it would be wrong to conclude that the MP is guilty before formal charges are filed and proven in court.

“It is very unfortunate that a thing like that has happened. But professionally, I understand that a person is deemed to be innocent until proven guilty and, therefore, I would not jump into conclusions. He has the right to defend himself and I'm sure he will exercise that right,” he said.

Appiah-Kubi, who is also a lawyer, stressed that the allegations remain unproven at this stage, calling for patience while the legal process takes its course.

“So, for now, every allegation remains an allegation that has not been proven and, therefore, I will consider them still as allegations. It is my prayer that we understand the situation as it is now and exercise the capacity to wait until charges are preferred.

"So, for now, they haven't even preferred charges. So, we are still privy to the allegations without law,” he stated.

Appiah-Kubi also dismissed suggestions that Members of Parliament enjoy absolute immunity from arrest.

“Even in Ghana, there is no immunity to wrongdoing or criminal action. There is no immunity. This is a wrongful interpretation of our statute,” he explained.

He clarified that parliamentary immunity only applies within limited circumstances.

“The immunity to arrest is limited to your presence in Parliament, on your way to Parliament, and on your way from Parliament,” he said.

According to him, MPs can still be arrested outside those protected periods if there is evidence of wrongdoing.

“When you exit Parliament and go to your house, you could be arrested even as a Member of Parliament, provided you would have done something wrong that can be proved under the law,” he added.

Appiah-Kubi further noted that diplomatic processes cannot be used to shield anyone from criminal investigations if allegations are proven.

“Diplomacy has its limits also. Diplomacy cannot be invoked in the commission of crime, so diplomacy cannot also exonerate an offender if it is so proven,” he said.

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He stressed that diplomatic channels should not be used to avoid accountability.

“So, there cannot be an avenue for the diplomatic platform to be used to exonerate the commission of crime, and, therefore, I don't think this is available. Crime is crime,” he stated.



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