The Director of Strategy, Research, and Communications at the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), Samuel Appiah Darko, has revealed that the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has returned the docket on former Sanitation Minister Cecilia Dapaah.
In the latest development on the case, EOCO announced its decision to return the docket concerning Madam Cecilia Dapaah to the OSP.
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This decision came after EOCO concluded that it would not initiate any move to investigate money laundering in Cecilia Dapaah’s dealings.
It was based on advice by the Office of the Attorney General to halt the investigation.
The Attorney General’s office highlighted the lack of sufficient evidence of corruption or corruption-related offences to warrant the initiation of such investigations.
While addressing the media at the 14th Commonwealth Regional Conference of Heads of Anti-corruption Agencies in Africa on Monday, the Executive Director of EOCO, Maame Yaa Tiwa Addo-Danquah, disclosed that her outfit intended to return the docket because there was nothing they could do.
“If you read the A-G’s advice, whatever we would have done had already been directed at the police CID. And like he said this morning when you investigate a case, and you do not find anything, we should be bold enough to come and tell the public that for this case, even though I suspected this at the time, that wasn’t what came out; we should be bold.”
However, Mr Darko said EOCO’s assertions that it intends to return the docket are untrue because that has already happened.
“Let me start with what EOCO said yesterday [Monday, May 6] that they were going to return the docket to the OSP. That is not accurate. They have long returned the docket to us with an explanation that they have been advised by the AG [Attorney General] not to investigate, but remember, we did not say to prosecute, [to] investigate, and so I don’t understand why EOCO will say they are now going to return the docket to OSP,” he said.
He rejected claims that the docket the OSP forwarded to EOCO was baseless.
He believes EOCO is not interested in investigating the matter and rather attempting to blame the OSP.
“The second point I want to make is that the docket that the OSP sent to EOCO was baseless. If you will indulge me, I am going to be a bit detailed. Although we are not supposed to do this, our point is that if there is no appetite to investigate and prosecute, tell the people of Ghana that there is no appetite, but don’t try to put the blame on the OSP,” he observed.