The trial prosecution in the case in which a lawyer and two other persons are
standing trial for money laundry activities has asked the court
for an adjournment to enable investigator complete investigation
and to also receive a full advice
from the Attorney General’s department.
Ms. Diana Annan, a legal counsel for EOCO who was holding
brief for the substantive prosecutor in the matter, Mr. Edward Cudjoe disclosed
this to the court yesterday when the case was called for hearing.
According to counsel, the prosecution contacted the Attorney
General’s Department for a final update of the case and advice but was told the
state was still gathering some documentary evidence in the matte.
However, when the court asked the investigator in the case,
he also confirmed and said they have to go outside Accra jurisdiction to obtain
some of the documents in respect of the accused persons and that they would
need about two weeks to be able to complete their work.
The defence team did not object to the prosecution request
for time and the presiding judge Mr. Justice John Ajet-Nasam adjourned the case
to March 7, this year.
Before adjourning the
case, the judge expressed the hope that the prosecution would live up to
expectation by the next date for a speedy trial.
The accused persons standing trial
in the money laundry activities are, Mr. Charles Owusu Juanah, a lawyer, Dr.
Victor Amoah, an Agronomist and Nana Kwaku Agyei.
They were arrested and arraigned
before the Financial Division of the Fast Track High Court on January 19, 2012,
and charged with two counts each for conspiracy to commit crime of aiding and
abetting money laundering activities.
They pleaded not guilty to the charges
and Charles and Victor were each granted bail in the sum of $4 million with
three sureties each, one to be justified.
Although, Victor managed to meet the
bail terms, Charles could not and the court reviewed the bail terms and he was
to deposit a land title deed worth $2.5 million instead of $4 million with the
registrar of the court as justification.
Charles Juana and Victor Amaoh were
further ordered to report daily to the Economic and Organized Crime Office
(EOCO).
The third accused, Nana Kwaku Agyei, was also granted bail in the sum of $4 million with three sureties with no justification due to his ill condition.
The third accused, Nana Kwaku Agyei, was also granted bail in the sum of $4 million with three sureties with no justification due to his ill condition.
His lawyer, Mr. Joseph Turkson, on
that produced a medical report to prove that his client was not well.
The accused persons are being accused of allegedly obtaining, through money laundering activities, an amount of $3.5 million.
The accused persons are being accused of allegedly obtaining, through money laundering activities, an amount of $3.5 million.
Juanah, who is alleged to be the
principal architect, is said to have collected the $3.5 million from the GT
Bank headquarters at about 9:45 p.m. on November 17, 2011 after luring a Dubai-based
businessman, Mohammed Shafiq, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Jampur
Group, and his agents into the country to establish business dealings in gold.
The prosecution said when Mr Shafiq and his agents arrived in Ghana, they were told that the gold had been lodged in a vault at the SG-SSB Bank and were made to pay $3.5 million before it would be released.
It said the money was lodged in an account at the Abeka branch of the GT Bank and the alleged gold subsequently handed over to the buyers.
The prosecution further stated that when Mr Shafiq and his agents decided to verify the authenticity of 135 kilogrammes of gold after it had been delivered, only 5 kilogrammes was found to be authentic.
The prosecution said when Mr Shafiq and his agents arrived in Ghana, they were told that the gold had been lodged in a vault at the SG-SSB Bank and were made to pay $3.5 million before it would be released.
It said the money was lodged in an account at the Abeka branch of the GT Bank and the alleged gold subsequently handed over to the buyers.
The prosecution further stated that when Mr Shafiq and his agents decided to verify the authenticity of 135 kilogrammes of gold after it had been delivered, only 5 kilogrammes was found to be authentic.
It said when Mr Shafiq and his
agents complained and threatened to lodge a complaint with the police, Juanah
allegedly warned them not to dare, as they would be incarcerated for
transacting an illegitimate business as illegal immigrants.
According to the prosecution, Mr.
Shafiq and his agents quickly left the country for Dubai and were advised to
lodge a complaint with the National Security, which referred the matter to
EOCO.
It said, investigations had so far revealed that Juanah drafted the contract agreement for the transactions, acted as solicitor to both the buyer and the seller, while Amoah, a friend of Juanah and Amoah, acted as consultant to Mr. Shafiq and his agent.
It said, investigations had so far revealed that Juanah drafted the contract agreement for the transactions, acted as solicitor to both the buyer and the seller, while Amoah, a friend of Juanah and Amoah, acted as consultant to Mr. Shafiq and his agent.
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