The prosecution’s own witness, Edith Ruby Opokua Adumuah, who is the Head of Finance at the National Signals Bureau (NSB), has provided an account that contradicts two core claims made by the Attorney-General (A-G) in the ongoing trial of former NSB Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahene.
In her testimony, the witness claimed under cross-examination that there was no state-owned ‘BNC’ account at the Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), as alleged by the prosecution.
It has been alleged that there was a diversion of public funds into a specific private account. Counsel for the accused person, Atta Akyea, during cross-examination, asked whether the witness at any point in time personally arranged monies from private sources for operational purposes, but she responded in the negative.
She also answered in the affirmative when asked if she had expertise or knowledge in currency exchange.
She agreed that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) officially states the cedi-dollar exchange rates and that these figures are publicly accessible on the BoG website. Atta Akyea sought to present a Bank of Ghana document covering exchange rates from 2020, but the Deputy Attorney-General objected, citing the witness’s lack of official knowledge.
The judge ruled in favour of the defence, allowing the document’s relevance.
The witness later testified, using Bank of Ghana exchange rates, that there was a significant discrepancy in the alleged $7 million payment, calculating that GH¢49.1 million could not reasonably translate to $7 million.
Mr. Akyea questioned the witness about Exhibit B3, a swift transfer of $87,500 from Fidelity Bank to ISC Holdings.
The witness confirmed the transfer details, including the exchange rate of 5.87 cedis to the dollar, and calculated the cedi equivalent of $87,500 to be GHS513,625.
When asked about the cedi equivalent of $7 million at the same exchange rate, she replied GHS41,090,000, noting a difference of GHS8,010,000 from GHS49,100,000.
The witness also confirmed that GHS49,100,000 could not be the cedi equivalent of $7 million at the given exchange rate.
Additionally, she testified about another swift transfer of $100,000 on June 8, 2020, with an exchange rate of 5.85 cedis to the dollar, and calculated the cedi equivalent of $7 million at that rate to be GHS40,950,000, highlighting a variance of GHS8,150,000 from GHS49,100,000.
The defence team was led by Samuel Atta Akyea, while the Deputy Attorney-General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, appeared alongside counsel Esi Yankah and Rabiatu Abdulai for the State.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana