By The Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice has advised against initiating money laundering investigations into the affairs of former Sanitation Minister Cecilia Dapaah by the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO).
This advice comes after the Attorney General’s office determined that the Special Prosecutor’s request to EOCO to launch money laundering investigations into Cecilia Dapaah’s affairs lacked a legal basis.
The Special Prosecutor’s office made this request after determining that the case involving over 1 million dollars stolen, along with other findings in the former minister’s house, raised concerns of money laundering, which fell outside its mandate.
Despite months of collaborative investigation with agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States, the Attorney General’s office found that the OSP did not provide EOCO with the report on the collaborative investigation or respond to requests for its findings.
Analysis of the docket presented to EOCO revealed that it only consisted of the OSP’s letter transmitting the docket, the diary of action, and statements taken during the investigation, among other documents.
Furthermore, the Attorney General’s office found that the OSP did not make any findings of corruption or corruption-related offenses against Cecilia Dapaah. Therefore, without criminal issues associated with the politician’s properties, the Attorney General concluded that there was no basis for investigating money laundering.
Despite acknowledging EOCO’s authority to launch its investigation, the Attorney General advised against it, citing the ongoing investigation by the Ghana Police Service into the sources of funds found at Cecilia Dapaah’s home.
