The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has disagreed with the order by the Accra High Court to return the money seized from the residence of former Sanitation Minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah.
An Accra High Court on Thursday, August 31, 2023, ordered the OSP to return the money within seven days and rescind its earlier decision to freeze her Dollar and Cedi accounts.
However, the OSP in a statement responding to the court order described it as “erroneous” despite respecting the directives.
“While the OSP respects the Court’s decision, it disagrees with the decision of the Court. First, the OSP believes that the Court’s computation of the time limitation is, with respect, erroneous. The OSP searched three (3) private residences associated with Ms. Dapaah over the course of two (2) weeks.
“The searches and discovery were ongoing during that period. There is little doubt that the OSP filed its application within the statutory window once the search and discovery window is considered,” A statement signed by Kissi Agyebeng explained.
According to the OSP, “The freezing order was not based on public sentiments,” rather it was based on “court processes filed in a criminal matter before the Circuit Court, Accra involving Ms. Dapaah as the complainant.”
The statement further rubbished the court’s assessment that the OSP did not carry out its investigation properly.
“Further, the freezing order was effected to aid the investigation, as required by law, not on the basis of the investigation, as indicated by the Court. Therefore, it cannot be said that the OSP did not carry out proper investigations to warrant the freezing order. The investigation has only commenced, and it is ongoing.”
The Office of the Special Prosecutor began to carry out an investigation on Madam Cecelia Dapaah over alleged corruption and corruption-related offences after it emerged that the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources was keeping more than $1 million in her house.
