Anti-corruption campaigner, Vitus Azeem has said that state institutions have woefully failed to prevent the former Public Procurement Authority (PPA) boss from taking millions of monies from his “frozen” bank accounts.
Reports suggest that the dismissed chief executive officer of the PPA, Adjenim Boateng Adjei has withdrawn all the money from his accounts.
According to reports, the former PPA boss cleared his accounts of all the funds before the current Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, took office.
However, speaking to Beatrice Adu on The Big Bulletin on Wednesday (18 May), Azeem said that state institutions such as the Financial Intelligence Centre (FCI) should have placed a freezing order on the accounts.
“They [state institutions] failed to act. You see, the Financial Intelligence Centre, its responsibility is to look at huge monies that are taken from or withdrawn from the banks. The Bank of Ghana is supposed to inform them of any suspicious monies that are coming in or going out of people’s bank accounts. It’s supposed to help prevent money laundering.
“So, even if the person was not referred to CHRAJ and the office of the special prosecutor is to carry out investigations, the FIC will have a responsibility to even start its own investigation to find out where these monies are coming from and where they’re going out to. So, yes, it [FIC] failed to do its work,” Azeem said.
Listen to Azeem in the attached audio clip below:
Charges
Meanwhile, the Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng has charged Adjei for “using public office for profit” and also “directly and indirectly” influencing a procurement process for personal gain.
Adjei has been charged alongside his brother-in-law Francis Kwaku Arhin, who is facing “one count of using public office for profit.”
They are due to appear in court on 25 May 2022, a statement from the Office of the Special Prosecutor said.
Nicholas Brown
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