Court Accepts Ato Essien-AG GH₵90 Million Agreement
An Accra High Court has accepted the terms of a GH90 million settlement agreement reached between the Office of the Attorney General and the founder and former CEO of the defunct Capital Bank, Wiliam Ato Essien, who is accused of stealing from the bank.
On December 1, 2022, the court presided over by Justice Eric Kyei Baffour, a Court of Appeal judge sitting as an additional High Court, rejected the terms of the agreement on the grounds that Section 35 of the Courts Act, under which the agreement was reached, did not apply to the case.
The court also expressed concern about the total amount to be paid as reparation and restitution, urging the parties to return to the negotiating table and increase the amount, as well as return to convince the court that Section 35 applied.
Today, Deputy Attorney General Alfred Tuah-Yeboah told the court that Section 35 applied because Capital Bank’s license was revoked by the Bank of Ghana and the bank’s assets and liabilities were taken over by the Ghana Commercial Bank, a state agency.
He stated that the Ghanaian government has paid over GH25 billion to depositors as a result of the revocation of licenses of underperforming banks, including Capital Bank, resulting in a loss to the state.
When asked by the presiding Judge how they arrived at GH90 million as the amount to be repaid when the money was stolen about six years ago, Mr. Tuah- Yeboah stated that the total amount stolen by Ato Essien was GH192 million, but an investigation revealed that two shares worth GH65 million and GH35 million were purchased using the bank’s own funds, so the shares were reversed and the monies were retained by the bank, leaving an outstanding amount of GH₵92 million.
He also stated that the Ato Essien paid GH1.2 million to the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) during the investigation. “This brings the total amount owed to GH90.7 million.” “This court has the records on these transfers and transactions,” he added.
In justifying the GH90 million to be paid as reparation and restitution, Thaddeus Sory, counsel for Ato Essien, stated that an amount of GH35 million was not accounted for.
He claimed that the GH35, which was the subject of counts 1 to 4, was repeated in counts 9 to 11, resulting in double accounting, and that the Attorney General negotiated an extra GH30 million, which the first accused agreed to pay.
“So, in terms of interest, the GH30 million takes care of that,” Mr. Sory added.
After hearing the parties, Justice Kyei Baffour accepted the agreement, indicating that adjusting the total sum any further would overreach Ato Essien in accordance with the agreement reached.
“As a result, I will accept the agreement,” he said.
Ato Essien then pleaded guilty to all 16 counts of conspiracy to steal, stealing, and money laundering leveled against him, and he was convicted solely on the basis of his own plea.
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