An Accra High Court has rejected the request made by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to freeze the bank accounts and assets belonging to former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah.
Justice Edward Twum, presiding over the case, ruled that the OSP had violated the Special Prosecutor Act (Act 959) by filing the application beyond the stipulated timeframe.
Furthermore, the court pointed out that the OSP had doubts about the true ownership of the former Minister’s property and failed to convince the court of the alleged tainted nature of these assets.
The court remarked, “If the applicant was uncertain about the ownership of the funds, it should not have proceeded to freeze the properties assumed to be tainted.” It emphasized that ownership and possession of “tainted property” were not synonymous.
The court found no valid grounds to justify the OSP‘s freezing of the respondent’s bank account and concluded that the OSP had misapplied its authority.
It deemed the OSP’s application as being based on public sentiment and therefore lacking legal justification.
As a result, the court ordered the OSP to return the confiscated assets to Madam Dapaah within seven days.
This legal dispute arose from a criminal case known as the Republic versus Patience Botwe and four others. The accused individuals, including household staff, were alleged to have stolen $1 million and 300,000 Euros from the former Minister’s residence and her husband’s property in Abelemkpe, Accra, between July and October 2022.
The OSP asserted that during searches, they discovered cash totaling $590,000 and GHC2,730,000 at the Abelemkpe residence of the former Minister. The OSP justified the seizure of these funds as a preventive measure to deter the concealment of potentially illicit assets.
Additionally, the Attorney General had directed the Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service to investigate the “true ownership and sources of the amounts reportedly stolen from the residence of the respondent (Cecilia Dapaah),” as stated in a directive issued on July 31, 2023. The OSP argued that this directive validated its inquiries into the source of the large sums of money associated with the former Minister.
In pursuit of these investigations, the OSP sought a freezing order against Cecilia Dapaah’s bank accounts and investments at Prudential Bank Limited and Société Générale Ghana, citing relevant legal provisions.
On July 24, 2023, the OSP had arrested Cecilia Dapaah on charges related to corruption. In her defense, Cecilia Dapaah, through her legal representation, contended that the funds found at her residence were the result of her past employment, pensions, investments, and inheritances from deceased relatives.
The court concluded that the OSP had violated Act 959 and lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the applicant’s breach of the law.
Moreover, it found that the OSP could not rely on the Attorney General’s directive to the CID to determine the ownership of the money, as the OSP failed to substantiate its claims in this regard.