Naagyei 90.3 Fm Agyapa
Inquiries into the actions of Ms. Cecilia Abena Dapaah, the former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, and her associates have been begun concurrently by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States.
Their assets and financial dealings within the US will be the main subjects of the investigations. The collaboration’s objective is to establish the legality of Ms. Dapaah and her companions’ riches, both in terms of the flow of money from Ghana to the US and vice versa.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor tweeted about this.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)@USEmbassyGhana have initiated concurrent inquiries into the activities of Cecilia Abena Dapaah, the former Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, and her associates. These…
— Office of the Special Prosecutor-Ghana (@ospghana) October 11, 2023
Founded in 2017, the OSP is a Ghanaian anti-corruption organisation. The organisation is in charge of looking into and bringing charges in situations of corruption involving high-profile people like public officials.
The FBI is the domestic security and intelligence agency of the United States. Additionally, the agency is in charge of looking into and prosecuting cases of crimes including financial fraud, bribery, and other types of corruption.
An important development in the OSP’s investigation into Ms. Dapaah is the opening of the concurrent inquiries into her and her associates.
Background
That came after two housekeepers who worked for Ms. Dapaah and her husband, Daniel Osei Kuffour, were accused by police prosecutors of stealing money and other goods worth millions of Ghana cedis from the couple’s home in Abelenkpe, Accra.
The OSP then conducted a search of the former minister’s home and discovered $590,000 and GH2.73 million.
In anticipation of more inquiries, the Special Prosecutor confiscated the money and blocked the former minister’s cedi and dollar bank accounts.
The OSP then submitted an application to the High Court requesting that the seizure and freeze of the former minister’s bank accounts continue.
The money was taken, according to OSP officials, since it was thought to be tainted property; as a result, it was necessary to stop the former minister’s bank accounts from being hidden or lost.
The application, however, was denied, and the OSP was instructed to return the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources’ seized property within seven days.
The OSP again ordered the freezing and seizure of Ms. Dapaah’s bank accounts and any cash discovered at her home five days following that decision.
