The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has described the order by the Accra High Court to return the money seized from the residence of former Sanitation Minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah as erroneous.
An Accra High Court on Thursday, August 31 instructed the OSP to return the money within seven days.
The court further ordered the OSP to rescind its August 9 decision to freeze the Dollar and Cedi accounts of the former minister.
But in response to the Court’s order, the OSP in a statement said “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.”
“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. 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.”
Read the full statement below
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
