On August 31, 2023, the Financial Crimes High Court, presided over by Justice Edward Twum, will rule on the special prosecutor’s request to freeze the assets of former Sanitation Minister Cecilia Dapaah.
The application was submitted by the special prosecutor’s office in an effort to validate the freezing of Ms. Dapaah’s two accounts. The OSP believes that the money in those accounts may be fraudulent.
In addition, the OSP has asked the court to affirm its decision to take a total of US$590,000 and GHC2,730,000 that were discovered during the probe of Cecilia Dapaah’s home.
Dr. Isidore Tufour, Director of Prosecutions at the OSP, presented the OSP’s petition and claimed that even if the money’s ownership is still up for debate, there are good reasons to believe they are contaminated assets.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, (2017) Act 959, Section 32 (1), serves as the legal foundation for OSP proceedings.
Victoria Barth, an attorney for Cecilia Dapaah, responded to the OSP’s petition by contesting the application and arguing that the OSP’s urge to verify the freezing of the accounts and confiscation of assets should be denied.
She called attention to inconsistencies in the application and argued that it had been submitted beyond its due date in violation of Section 32(2) of Act 959.
Ms. Barth asserted that there should be concrete proof connecting the cash to the execution of a crime or a connected fraudulent action.
There were inquiries as to why just Cecilia Dapaah was detained and not her husband when the court session came to an end.
Dr. Tufour said that both people had been detained and were being held on bail at the time.
To Ms. Barth’s amazement, her client was unaware that her husband had been arrested; therefore, she showed amazement at this information.