Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng has refuted claims that his office should have referred Cecilia Dapaah’s case to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) right from the onset, stressing the amount of work his outfit undertook to unearth evidence, which would be essential in EOCO‘s work.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor arrested Mrs. Dapaah, former Sanitation Minister, in July last year following reports of huge sums of both foreign and local currencies stashed in her residence that got stolen.
Mrs. Dapaah had reported her house help to the police as the suspect in her loss of money.
In a media briefing on Thursday, January 25, Mr. Agyebeng lauded his office’s efforts on the matter, citing the collaboration with international agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as the office deemed the case “money laundering,” hence referring the same to the EOCO.
“Hindsight wisdom is always awesome… because we have had seven months of this extensive investigation to come to the conclusion we have arrived at. You cannot begin making conclusions on a case a week or two after commencing an investigation. But after piecing together all your evidence, testimonies, and everything else, something should then suggest to you,” said the Special Prosecutor, adding, “If, after the seven months, we did not have anything, we would just let it go.”
“But after seven months, I think we should be commended that we have been able to do such extensive work and have international collaborations as part of this matter. That is to say, we left no stone unturned, and that is what is leading us to this outcome, as I have just announced,” Mr. Agyebeng emphasised.
The Special Prosecutor believed that, with the benefit of hindsight, which his office did not have, the EOCO, which has the mandate to investigate and prosecute money-laundering cases, would be able to prosecute Mrs. Dapaah’s case to the latter.
Meanwhile, the High Court has ordered the Office of the Special Prosecutor to, within 72 hours, release all funds and unfreeze the assets of the embattled former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources. This directive follows the OSP’s discontinuation of Mrs. Dapaah’s corruption case.
Source:Fiilafmonline/3News
