The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has dropped charges against Albert Ankrah, the fourth accused person in the ongoing corruption and money laundering case involving former Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, and nine others, and will instead present him as a witness for the prosecution.
Mr. Ankrah, who was previously accused of conspiring with other individuals and companies to launder millions of cedis through the acquisition of properties, was originally among those charged in several counts relating to the alleged laundering of proceeds from an extortion scheme at the NPA.
The decision was disclosed in court on Tuesday when the case came up before Justice Kocuvie-Tay for a Case Management Conference (CMC).
Principal State Attorney Adelaide Kubiri Woode told the court that the Republic had earlier filed five witness statements, including two from oil marketing companies, ahead of the scheduled CMC.
However, she said the prosecution was subsequently served with a notice of change of lawyer for the fourth accused person, following which his new counsel engaged authorised officials of the OSP.
According to the prosecution, those engagements centred on claims that Mr. Ankrah had been misled into certain acts.
“The Office has since taken a decision not to proceed with the prosecution of the fourth accused person, Albert Ankrah, but rather put him before the court as a witness for the prosecution,” Ms. Kubiri Woode told the court.
She added that the development would have significant implications for the charge sheet and the witness statements already filed, noting that the fourth accused person appeared in 12 out of the 54 counts in the case.
In view of the decision, the prosecution said it intends to file a fresh charge sheet excluding Mr. Ankrah, leaving the remaining accused persons to stand trial.
The Republic also indicated it would subsequently file the appropriate processes subject to the directions of the court.
Because of the anticipated amendments, the prosecution told the court it would not be able to proceed with the Case Management Conference scheduled for Tuesday.
Defence Confirms Engagement
Counsel for Mr. Ankrah, Louis Wisdom, confirmed the development in court.
He explained that he recently took over the case and filed a notice of change of lawyer out of caution.
According to him, after reviewing the case file, he advised his client to engage the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
“I can confirm what the prosecution has told the court,” counsel said.
Lawyer for Mustapha Abdul-Hamid who is the first accused in the case, Joseph Kpemka, however raised concerns about the repeated amendments to the charge sheet.
He told the court that the accused persons first appeared before the court about nine months ago, adding that the prosecution had already substituted the charge sheet three times.
While acknowledging that the defence cannot dictate how the prosecution conducts its case, he urged the court to consider appropriate orders to ensure the expeditious prosecution of the matter.
Charges Against Ankrah
Before the latest development, Mr. Ankrah faced several counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering together with other accused persons.
In one of the counts, he was accused alongside Jacob Kwamina Amuah, Wendy Newman, Kwaku Aboagye Acquah, Bright Bediako-Mensah and Propnest Limited of conspiring to launder GH¢9.6 million by transferring the funds to Clifton Homes to conceal their origin.
Another charge alleged that the accused persons conspired to launder GH¢32.7 million through the purchase of two-unit block houses in East Legon and parcels of land at Agbogba for the construction of six-unit residential blocks.
Other counts involved alleged laundering of funds for the purchase of multiple properties, including:
GH¢3.1 million for three apartments
GH¢4.1 million for three apartments at The Monarchs
GH¢2.075 million for a studio apartment
GH¢3.8 million for a two-bedroom Signature apartment
GH¢1.6 million for an apartment at The Lennox
Background
The case stems from investigations by the Office of the Special Prosecutor into suspected corruption and corruption-related offences at the National Petroleum Authority involving senior officials of the regulator.
Investigators say that between 2022 and December 2024, some officials of the Authority allegedly ran an extortion scheme targeting oil marketing companies and bulk oil transporters.
According to the OSP, the scheme enabled the accused persons to unlawfully obtain GH¢291,574,087.19 and US$332,407.47.
Prosecutors say the scheme was allegedly devised by former NPA Chief Executive Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, who is said to have introduced the arrangement to Jacob Kwamina Amuah, then Coordinator of the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund (UPPF).
Investigators allege that portions of the funds were subsequently channelled through various companies and used to acquire lands, houses, trucks for oil distribution and fuel filling stations in an attempt to conceal the origin of the money.
The case has been adjourned to March 24 at 9:30am.
Citinewsroom