ATO ESSIEN HAS TO BE JAILED FOR FAILING TO PAY ¢20M TO THE STATE – Attorney General’s Office

The Attorney General’s Department has called for the prosecution of Ato Essien, former Chief Executive Officer of the defunct Capital Bank.

In a report by Pulse.com.gh, The AG’s Department is asking the Accra High Court for a custodial sentence because Mr. Essien has failed to pay an amount of twenty million cedis he owes the state.

Mr Essien in 2022 entered into an agreement with the state on the eve of the court delivering judgement in the case in which he was charged with the offences of stealing and money laundering for his role in the collapse of the bank.

Under the terms of the agreement, he was to pay an amount of ¢90 million. A third of the amount was to be paid upfront with the remaining ¢60 million to be paid in three instalments (¢20 million each)within a year from the date of conviction.

The AG’s Office says this is contrary to the conditions imposed on him by the court and makes him liable to a custodial sentence.

“That having failed to fulfil a condition imposed on him by this Honourable Court under section 35 of the Courts Act, the outstanding amount under the agreement has become due and the respondent is liable to a custodial sentence by the four”.

The first instalment was to be paid latest by April 28, 2023. Documents filed on behalf of the Attorney General reveal that as of May 2, 2023, the first instalment of ¢20 million cedis has not been paid.

William Ato Essien, Rev. Fitzgerald Odonkor, and Tetteh Nettey, a former managing director of MC Management Service, owned by Mr. Essien, were accused of participating in a 23-count conspiracy to steal GH₵620 million in liquidity support that the Bank of Ghana (BoG) provided to the bank to help it pay off its maturing debt.

NKONKONSA.com