The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, has once again directed the freezing and seizure of Cecilia Abena Dapaah’s bank accounts and cash found at her Abelenkpe residence in Accra.
It will be recalled that the Special Prosecutor in July froze the former Sanitation Minister's accounts after uncovering large amounts of cash in her accounts.
However, a High Court ruling on August 31 directed the Special Prosecutor to return Dapaah's seized money to her within 7 days.
Although the Special Prosecutor in a statement dated September 5, said it had complied with the order, it said investigations were still ongoing and believes the money in question is tainted hence the decision to take custody of the amount.
The Special Prosecutor has also frozen Cecilia Dapaah’s accounts again.
“Consequently, subsequent to the indicated ruling and order of the High Court and the compliance by the OSP with said ruling and order, the Special Prosecutor considers that freezing the bank accounts and investments of Ms. Dapaah is necessary to facilitate the ongoing investigation. Therefore, the Special Prosecutor has invoked his statutory power under section 38(1) of Act 959 and regulation 19(1) of L.I. 2374 by directing the freezing of the bank accounts and investments of Ms. Dapaah effective 5 September 2023.”
“Further, subsequent to the indicated ruling and order of the High Court and the compliance by the OSP with said ruling and order, the Special Prosecutor considers that he has reasonable grounds to suspect that the cash amounts seized from and returned to Ms. Dapaah is tainted property and it is necessary to exercise the power of seizure to prevent the concealment or loss of said cash amounts. Therefore, the Special Prosecutor has again invoked his statutory power under section 32(1)(a) of Act 959 by directing the seizure from Ms. Dapaah of the cash amounts previously seized from her. Authorized officers of the OSP have seized the said cash amounts from Ms. Dapaah.”
