The office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice has advised the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to stop its investigations into alleged money laundering by former Sanitation Minister Cecilia Dapaah.
The Attorney General’s office says the request by the office of the Special Prosecutor to the Economic and Organised Crime Office to conduct an investigation into the affairs of former Sanitation Minister Cecilia Dapaah is without basis.
The Special Prosecutor’s Office some months ago declared that the case involving over $1 million in stolen funds and other items found in the former minister’s house was not within its mandate to investigate.
The OSP therefore asked EOCO to prove the matter.
However, the Attorney General, upon a request for advice on the issue by the Economic and Organised Crime Office, found that the OSP did not submit the report on the collaborative investigation to EOCO and has also not responded to a request by EOCO to furnish it with its findings.
It further revealed that the docket presented to EOCO only consists of the OSP’s letter transmitting the docket, the diary of action, statements taken in the course of the investigation, and letters written by the OSP to other institutions like the CID and banks in the inquiry.
The Office of the Attorney General’s analyses of the docket also revealed that the OSP did not make any findings of corruption or corruption-related offences against Cecilia Dapaah.
It said the key to the charge of money laundering is gains obtained from criminal proceeds arising from unlawful activity.
It has therefore concluded that, in the absence of any criminal issues associated with the properties of the former minister, there is no basis for the investigation of money laundering.
The office based its advice on the directive by the OSP to the Ghana Police Service to investigate the sources of funds found at the home of Cecilia Dapaah.
By: Rainbowradioonline com/Ghana
