A legal counsel to President Akufo-Addo, Kow Essuman, has refuted claims made by a gold trader in Al Jazeera’s “Gold Mafia” investigative documentary that Nana Akufo-Addo was a friend and lawyer to the businessman.
According to Mr. Kow Essuman, the President does not know the gold dealer and his cohorts, and therefore labeled the claims “spurious allegations.”
The response came on a back of a latest expose aired by Al Jazeera titled “Gold Mafia” where an infamous gold smuggler and self-styled financial architect, Alistair Mathias, claimed Akufo-Addo was a good friend and also served as his lawyer at some point in time.
The expose uncovered a band of criminals driving gold smuggling and money laundering worth billions of dollars in Southern Africa. However, those involved in this gold smuggling syndicate have business networks that stretch across the continent and operate in many other countries including Ghana.
Alistair Mathias, once the biggest smuggler of gold in Ghana, described by the investigative reporters as a financial architect who builds money laundering schemes for corrupt politicians, was approached by undercover journalists posing as Chinese criminals to help them launder money from China.
Speaking to the undercover reporters while trying to strike a deal, he alleged that President Akufo-Addo is his friend and was his lawyer too.
Alistair had earlier revealed that he has been smuggling $40 million worth of gold from Ghana monthly, which is $480 million worth of gold annually.
“Ghana’s President is a good friend of mine; in fact, he was my lawyer,” he said as captured in the investigative piece.
Responding to the allegations in a tweet on Sunday, April 16, 2023, Kow Essuman stated that President Akufo-Addo has not been in private practice since 2000.
According to him, President Akufo-Addo’s law firm – Akufo-Addo, Prempeh and Co – has not also acted as lawyers for Alistair Mathias or Guldrest.
“The President has not been in private practice since 2000, neither has the President nor his law firm, Akufo-Addo, Prempeh and Co, acted as a lawyer for this Alistair Mathias or Guldrest.
- “The President does not know this Mathias or Guldrest. Ignore the spurious allegations,” he tweeted.
