The money that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) confiscated from the home of the former Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Dapaah, will not be returned any time soon.
This is because the office used its authority to continue taking custody of it, days after the High Court ordered the OSP to release the money.
The OSP was instructed last week by the Accra High Court to restore the seized funds and defrost Madam Dapaah’s frozen bank accounts.
The OSP said in a statement that it had followed with the order, but it added that investigations were still underway and that it believed the money was tainted, leading it to decide to seize custody of it.
The accounts of Cecilia Dapaah have once more been frozen by the OSP.
“Consequently, subsequent to the indicated ruling and order of the High Court and the compliance by the OSP with said ruling and order, the Special Prosecutor considers that freezing the bank accounts and investments of Ms. Dapaah is necessary to facilitate the ongoing investigation. Therefore, the Special Prosecutor has invoked his statutory power under section 38(1) of Act 959 and regulation 19(1) of L.I. 2374 by directing the freezing of the bank accounts and investments of Ms. Dapaah effective 5 September 2023.”
“Further, subsequent to the indicated ruling and order of the High Court and the compliance by the OSP with said ruling and order, the Special Prosecutor considers that he has reasonable grounds to suspect that the cash amounts seized from and returned to Ms. Dapaah is tainted property and it is necessary to exercise the power of seizure to prevent the concealment or loss of said cash amounts. Therefore, the Special Prosecutor has again invoked his statutory power under section 32(1)(a) of Act 959 by directing the seizure from Ms. Dapaah of the cash amounts previously seized from her. Authorized officers of the Office of the Special Prosecutor have tried said cash amounts from Ms. Dapaah.
Read the full statement of the OSP below:
