Outstanding GH¢53m will be recovered regardless of Ato Essien’s jail term – Deputy AG

The Office of the Attorney General has assured that the outstanding GH¢53m owed by the defunct Capital Bank CEO William Ato Essien will be recovered.

This comes amidst concerns that the state will lose if Ato Essien is made to serve the 15-year jail term without repaying a GH¢53 million debt.

Critics have said that the incarceration may impede his ability to generate income and, as time goes on, reduce the likelihood of any debt repayment.

But Deputy Attorney General Alfred Tuah Yeboah affirmed the government’s unwavering commitment to recovering the GH¢53 million from Mr Essien.

Mr. Tuah Yeboah emphasized that the state will not let go of this substantial sum, as it is deemed essential for the state’s financial interests.

“If he serves this sentence, the state will still pursue him and get the remaining amount, so it is not as if he is going to serve his sentence, and then the amount will be forfeited.

“We are going to trace his encumbered properties and go after that in a civil action,” Mr Tuah-Yeboah said in a Joy News interview monitored by theghanareport.com.

On Thursday, October 12, an Accra High Court slapped William Ato Essien with a 15-year jail term for stealing over GH₵90 million belonging to his bank.

This sentencing followed Mr Essien’s failure to repay a GH¢90 million debt to the state despite prior agreements to do so.

Mr Essien was on trial with two others — Rev. Fitzgerald Odonkor and Tetteh Nettey — for their roles in the collapse of the defunct Capital Bank.

However, Rev. Odonkor and Mr Nettey were acquitted and discharged.

Mr Essien was charged with 16 counts of conspiracy and stealing from the GH¢620 million liquidity support given to the Capital Bank by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to enable it to service maturing debts.

He was found guilty of stealing over GH¢90m of depositors’ funds after he pleaded guilty to 16 counts of stealing and money laundering.