Ghana’s Special Prosecutor to freeze Cecilia Dapaah’s ‘tainted property’ and bank accounts
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The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has gone to an Accra High Court with an application to freeze the assets of Cecilia Abena Dapaah, the embattled former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resource.
The court is expected to hear the application for “confirmation of order of freezing of suspected tainted property,” on August 17,2023.
The OSP’s actions come after the former Minister got her domestic workers and their boyfriends arrested for allegedly stealing huge sums of monies both local and foreign currencies at her residence, and put before court.
An affidavit in support of the OSP motion said further searches have led to the discovery of cash in the sum of $590,000 and GH¢2,730,000 at the Abelemkpe residence of the former minister.
“Authorised officers of the OSP seized the discovered cash sums on reasonable grounds that they were suspected tainted property in accordance with Section 23 (1) of Act 959 as it was necessary to exercise the power of seizure to prevent concealment of the cash sums.”
The OSP noted that in a directional advice dated July 31, 2023, the Attorney-General directed the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service to conduct investigations on the true ownership and sources of the amounts reportedly stolen from the residence of the former Minister.
It said the directive affirmed the reasonableness of the investigations being carried out by the OSP as to the sources of the large sums of money associated with the former Minister.
The OSP said to facilitate investigations, it considered it necessary for the issuance of a “freezing order against the bank accounts and investments of the respondent (Cecilia Dapaah) at Prudential Bank Limited and Societe Generale Ghana in accordance with Section 38 (1) of Act 959 and regulation 19 (1) of LI 2374.
The OSP on July 24, 2023, arrested Cecilia Dapaah on charges of corruption and corruption related offences.
Subsequently, the OSP conducted searches in three residential properties associated with the respondent at Cantonments, Abelemkpe and Tesano,all in Accra.
