The former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah, appears to be far from regaining her seized money. The Special Prosecutor has invoked his statutory power to seize her cash and freeze her bank account once again.
It will be recalled that the Accra High Court ordered the Office of Special Prosecutor (OSP) last week to return the money in question and unfreeze Ms. Dapaah’s bank accounts.
In a statement dated September 5, 2023, the OSP stated that although it had initially complied with the court’s order, investigations are still ongoing, and the office believes the money in question is tainted. Hence, the decision to take custody of the amount, which the OSP noted, is to facilitate the ongoing investigation.
“Consequently, subsequent to the indicated ruling and order of the High Court and the compliance by the OSP with said ruling and order, the Special Prosecutor considers that freezing the bank accounts and investments of Ms. Dapaah is necessary to facilitate the ongoing investigation.
Therefore, the Special Prosecutor has invoked his statutory power under Section 38(1) of Act 959 and Regulation 19(1) of L.I. 2374 by directing the freezing of the bank accounts and investments of Ms. Dapaah, effective September 5, 2023,” the statement stated.
“Further, subsequent to the indicated ruling and order of the High Court and the compliance by the OSP with said ruling and order, the Special Prosecutor considers that he has reasonable grounds to suspect that the cash amounts seized from and returned to Ms. Dapaah are tainted property, and it is necessary to exercise the power of seizure to prevent the concealment or loss of said cash amounts.
Therefore, the Special Prosecutor has again invoked his statutory power under Section 32(1)(a) of Act 959 by directing the seizure from Ms. Dapaah of the cash amounts previously seized from her. Authorised officers of the OSP have seized the said cash amounts from Ms. Dapaah,” it added.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Gilbert Azeem Tiroog|Ghana
